Daguerreotype of a Seated Girl, 1850s

The daguerreotype was invented by Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre and was used primarily for portraits and almost all were put into small cases for protection. Unfortunately, this image of a young girl is missing the cover. The girl is sitting in a chair and next to a table with one book on it. She looks very serious. People did not smile in early photographs because it took a long time to expose the image. Her cheeks have been tinted as has the fabric draped on the table.

The little girl is wearing a dress, pantalettes, and tied shoes. One style detail of the dress is the two-tiered skirt. At this time wide skirts were in fashion for adult women, and the tiered look gives the child’s skirt more fullness. Although we cannot see her petticoat, it was necessary to help achieve full skirts, even for children. What we can see are the bottom edges of her pantalettes, which are trimmed in ruffled lace.

References 

Joan Severa, Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1995.