Untitled (A Woman in Bonnet and Shawl, with her Seated Son)

Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes, two of the most important daguerreotypists of the 19th century, created portraits for the social and financial elite. They preferred to work with so-called full plates—the largest standard size available—for which they charged accordingly. The full-plate size was especially difficult to handle and develop uniformly. To improve their results, Southworth and Hawes patented innovations for both the camera and the preparation of the plate, including lenses that eliminated distortion of the image and a swinging plate holder that allowed them to polish their plates to perfection.