$4,800
Two Quarter-plate Daguerreotype Portraits of Dorchester, Massachusetts, Pewterer Roswell Gleason and Members of His Family, the first depicting Roswell Gleason (1799-1877) and his wife Rebecca Tucker Vose, both seated, with daughter Mary holding a book, the second an oversize quarter-plate depicting Roswell Gleason and his wife Rebecca flanking their two adult sons Roswell and Edward, and daughter Mary Frances, pictured in front of their family home in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the family identified in inscriptions in a note found behind the portrait; each portrait is mounted in a pressed-paper/leather case, the brass mats impressed "Mc ELROY," probably Elbridge G. McElroy, a daguerreian working in Dorchester, c. 1856-60, (minor tarnish, corrosion spots, dust, one case split, the other lacking cover); accompanied by eighteen cartes-de-visite and a cabinet card depicting members of the Gleason family. Note: Roswell Gleason was a successful manufacturer of Britannia ware pewter and brass lamp fixtures, which became one of the chief industries in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. Gleason also introduced silver-plating to the American market in 1849. He was born April 6, 1799 in Putney, Vermont, and after a time settled in Dorchester. In 1822 he married Rebecca T. Vose of Milton, Massachusetts. They were the parents of four children, Mary Frances, b. 1825, Roswell, b. 1826, Edward, b. 1829, and another child who died before reaching adulthood. They continued th Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2013-08-11
