Lot 347: ROBERT CORNELIUS (1809-1893)

ROBERT CORNELIUS (1809-1893)
Charles John Biddle, c. 1840
sixth-plate daguerreotype; and albumen print carte-de-visite, c. 1855
stamped 'R. Cornelius Philada.' (on the brass mat); sitter credit in ink (on the c.d.v. mount); annotation 'Capt. Chas. J. Biddle son of Nicholas Biddle' in pencil (on the reverse of the c.d.v. mount)
3¼ x 2¾in. (8.3 x 7cm.) (plate); and 3 5/8 x 2 3/8in. (9.2 x 6cm.) (2)

Robert Cornelius, a young manufacturer of lamps, quickly learned the basics of the daguerreian process and began to produce imagery.
Cornelius' background had given him a practical knowledge of metallurgy and chemistry and his discovery that bromine was a successful reagent in the process permitted him to open a commercial photographic studio - only the second such establishment in America.
Charles John Biddle (1819-1873) a native of Philadelphia, graduated from Princeton in 1837, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1840 (at around the time this portrait was made). He later served in the Mexican-American War, where he was commended for gallantry (see Christie's, New York, October 8, 2008, lot 522, for another, later portrait of Biddle by Cornelius.)