Brought Recently To My Attention: the below image was recently sold at an auction. IMIPORTANT MAIN ST., RICHMOND, VIRGINIA HALF-PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE, being a birds-eye view looking towards Church Hill, visible signage includes J. W. Randolph Book Binder, W. Allen Tailor, Gentlemens Furnishing Store, Charles Ellis, Merchants & Smith, plus other establishments. Housed in a thin brass frame folded over on verso. Circa 1856. 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 OA. Provenance: Discovered in Highland Co., Virginia in the 1980s. Likely brought to Highland Co. by Mrs. Lucy Randolph Fleming (1852-1900), daughter of J. W. Randolph, who died and is buried in Highland Co. The awnings hung to ward off Richmonds malefic summer sun, the rude road and the hand-lettered signage give downtown a western movie set appearance. The lack of figures -- except for what appears to be a horse just down the street (look above left of the Book Bindery sign) -- is due to their moving too fast to be captured by the long exposure time. The Charles Ellis, Merchant was a business partner of John Allan, Edgar Poes non-adoptive unfather, and it was his garden that became Linden Row (subject of a just released book from Arcadia Publishing). We are looking directly into Shockoe, and its nest of slave merchants and the infamous Lumpkins Jail. The First Market building -- it was just a few years old then -- is kind of lost in the jumble of buildings and shadows toward the bottom of the hill. But if you travel our eye from the DYES sign, to the widows walk banister, and past some roof tops, youll see the cupola of the Masonic Temple -- which still stands. .liveauctioneers/item/31964510_important-main-st-richmond-virginia-half-plate Gregg D. Kimball Elizabeth Dudley Cann Kambourian
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:22:36 +0000