{"product_id":"pioneer-photography-1849-philadelphia-daguerreotype-receipt-from-t-p-d-c-collins","title":"PIONEER PHOTOGRAPHY—1849 PHILADELPHIA DAGUERREOTYPE RECEIPT FROM T. P. \u0026 D. C. COLLINS","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCOLLINS, THOMAS PAINTER and DAVID CHITTENDEN.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Original manuscript receipt from the pioneering Philadelphia daguerreotype studio of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eT. P. \u0026amp; D. C. Collins\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, 100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. January 9, 1849. One sheet, written on both sides, with contemporary docketing and a faded red circular marking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA rare piece of early American photographic history documenting the price of a child’s daguerreotype portrait and a duplicate image only ten years after Louis Daguerre publicly introduced his revolutionary photographic process.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe receipt is headed:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“No. 100 Chesnut St., Jany 9th ’49”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is made out to a customer identified as “Mr. Learning” and itemizes:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“For Daguerreotype of Daughter — $4.00\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuplicate of Same — $3.00”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA further one-dollar charge, apparently for a case or related finishing work, brought the total to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eeight dollars\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. At the bottom, the account is acknowledged:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Rec’d Payment\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eT. P. \u0026amp; D. C. Collins\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy S. Collins.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe reverse bears contemporary docketing that appears to read “Collins bill \/ Daguerreotypes \/ Maria,” possibly identifying the young sitter as Maria Learning.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBrothers \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThomas Painter Collins (1823–1873)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDavid Chittenden Collins (1825–1909)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e were among Philadelphia’s notable pioneer daguerreotypists. They opened their studio at 100 Chestnut Street in 1846, only seven years after the public announcement of the daguerreotype process.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhiladelphia was then one of America’s leading centers of photographic innovation. Chestnut Street supported a remarkable concentration of competing studios, including those of Marcus Root, the Langenheim brothers, McClees \u0026amp; Germon, and T. P. \u0026amp; D. C. Collins.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Collins brothers’ surviving business registers record more than 23,000 customers between 1845 and 1854. During one five-year period alone, their studio reportedly produced over 9,500 daguerreotypes. Their portraits are now held by such institutions as the American Antiquarian Society, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis receipt offers unusually direct evidence of the economics of early photography. The original portrait cost four dollars, while the “duplicate” cost three dollars. Because a daguerreotype was a unique image formed directly upon a silvered copper plate, a duplicate was not simply printed from a negative; it generally required another exposure or the copying of the completed original with a second camera.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCondition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Original mailing and filing folds, general toning, scattered light soiling, creasing, small marginal tears, and several areas of weakness or short separation along the folds. The manuscript remains legible, including the studio address, charges, business name, and payment acknowledgment. Contemporary docketing and a faded red circular marking appear on the reverse.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA scarce and highly evocative artifact from the first decade of commercial photography in America, documenting the operation and pricing of one of Philadelphia’s important early daguerreotype galleries.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52766065885466,"sku":null,"price":450.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2706.jpg?v=1788098929","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/products\/pioneer-photography-1849-philadelphia-daguerreotype-receipt-from-t-p-d-c-collins","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}