Collection of encased images including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes, ca. 1840-1870. Each item includes a view of the recto and verso of the case (when case is present), as well as the interior image.

[Young African American nursemaid with her young white charge]
Three-quarter length, forward facing portrait of an African American girl caregiver, possibly an enslaved girl, seated on a wooden chair with spindles. Sitter has short hair and is attired in a long-sleeved dress made of patterned fabric with small checks and an apron with white polka dots. She holds a white girl on her lap (probably her charge), with her right hand on the girl’s chest and her left hand on the left side of the girl’s head. Their heads press together side-by-side. The blond-haired, white girl, attired in a necklace, a short-sleeved, dark-colored, checked dress with a white petticoat, stockings, and black shoes, faces the viewer and smiles. Her cheeks are tinted pink., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the sitters., Leather miniature case embossed with oval motif, contains nonpareil mat, and is missing front cover., Gift of Mrs. A. Douglas Oliver, 1977., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
[Group portrait with Captain William Wallace Rogers, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, at military encampment in unidentified location] [graphic].
Group portrait of Captain William Wallace Rogers, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, and seven individuals, including white military officers, a white boy, and an African American man posed in front of tents at an unidentified military encampment. In the center, Rogers, wearing a mustache and attired in a Union uniform and hat, stands with his right hand on his hip and his left hand on the back of a chair. Two Union officers sit in the left, one holding a sword. In the right, a bearded man sits, attired in shirtsleeves and with a pipe in his mouth and another man sits attired in uniform. To the right of Rogers, a man, attired in uniform, stands holding a flag on a pole. In the right, a boy, possibly a messenger or scout, attired in cap, shirtsleeves, and pants, stands with his left leg crossed over his right. In front of the men, an African American man, probably a camp laborer/servant and possibly an enslaved freedom seeker, lies on the ground on his side, propped up on his left elbow, and looks at the viewer. He wears shirtsleeves and pants. The tops of trees are visible in the background. William Wallace Rogers (1832-1890) served in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil War and served in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, including the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was wounded in July 1863. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1865 and retired from service in 1889., Title supplied by cataloger from information provided by donor, descendent of William Wallace Rogers., Date inferred from content and information provided by donor., Pad: Red velvet with a decorative scroll in the center surrounded by an ornamental border with flowers and leaves., Mat: Nonpareil., Case: Leather. Geometric design of a scroll in the center surrounded by vases of flowers and leaves. Same design on verso., Gift of John J. Nesbitt III, 2016.
[Portrait of an unidentified young woman holding a daguerreotype.]
Three-quarter length portrait of a seated, young, white woman with brown hair. She rests an elbow on a book on a table beside her and holds a daguerreotype in her opposite gloved hand. She sits in front of a painted landscape backdrop depicting high cliffs near a body of water., Title supplied by cataloger., Pad: Faded rust colored velvet with an eagle at the top. Photographer's imprint: "Daguerreotype artist, Goodridge's Extra Sky- Light Gallery, York, Pa.", Mat: Brass nonpareil., Case: Leather. Within a nonpareil-like border, striated lines surround a geometric design in the center. Same design on verso. Front cover detached., See John Vincent Jezierski's Enterprising images: The Goodridge brothers, African American photographers, 1847-1922 (Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University, 2000) and "'Dangerous opportunity': Glenalvin J. Goodridge and early photography in York Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania history. (Spring 1997, vol. 64, no. 2), pp. 310-333 for additional information on Goodridge., Accessioned 2001., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Goodridge, an African American daguerreotypist, ambrotypist, and photographer, operated a gallery in York, Pennsylvania from 1847 to 1862. He primarily produced daguerreotypes from 1847 to around 1855.
[Robert B. Davidson, 1808-1876.]
Bust-length portrait of the Philadelphia broker and recording secretary of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society. Davidson, attired in a white collared shirt, a black cravat, a waistcoat, and a dark colored jacket, faces slightly right. The Pennsylvania Colonization Society promoted Black American emigration to resolve the problem of race inequality and to dissolve the institution of slavery., Title supplied by cataloger., Photographer's imprint printed on paper label on verso of plate., Mounted in square ornamented brass frame with yellow painted borders., Manuscript note in pencil on verso: "7-6-37 #25" and "Robt. B. Davidson, 1838.", Purchase 1988., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cornelius operated the first commercial daguerreotype portrait studio in the United States.