Daguerreotype of Mercy Janvier
Probably Wilmington, Delaware
1849-1850
Maker
Samuel Broadbent (1810-1881)
Measurements
3-3/4 in x 3-3/16 in x 5/8 in (sight, 2-5/8 in x 2-1/4 in)
Materials
Glass, gilded metal, leather, silk (velvet)
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Francis Hort Sharp
Accession Number
1981.273
Inscription
“S. BROADBENT” is stamped into the lower left corner of the inside frame. “Mother’s grandmother / Mercy Janvier / with whom Mother lived” is written in pencil on one side of a slip of paper kept inside the case. “Mercy Archer Janvier wife of / Thomas Janvier, New Castle, Del. / 1777-1862” is in ink on the opposite side of the paper. The ink writing appears to be that of Margaret Janvier Hort.
Provenance
Ex coll. Margaret Janvier Hort
Comments
The daguerreotype shows an elderly woman with her hair parted in the middle and partially covered by a white cap. The image is within an oval gilded metal frame set within the daguerreotype case. The case has a molded leather exterior and a red cut-velvet pad inside the front cover.
An accompanying slip of paper identifies the sitter as Mercy Archer Janvier (1777-1862), who married Thomas Janvier of New Castle, Delaware.
A Directory of Delaware Photographers 1839-1900 and Beyond, compiled by William A McKay (2017), records the photographer’s presence in Wilmington between 1849 and 1850. He was in Philadelphia from 1851 to 1863.
