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Southworth & Hawes
[Autographed Note by Zachary Taylor and Southworth & Hawes Business Card]
1850s (late)
Daguerreotype, detail
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)
Museum purchase funded by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors, Object number: 2018.180
LL/102377
Daguerreotypes were lauded for their precision; by the mid-19th century “daguerreotype” was synonymous with accuracy and truthfulness.
The Southworth and Hawes studio was famous for daguerreotype portraits, yet this work reveals a lesser-known aspect of the firm’s story. In the 1850s, Southworth began a new venture—graphology, the “analysis . . . of questionable writing.” Here, the studio business card sits atop a letter bearing the signature of Zachary Taylor—one of the most sought-after autographs in the 19th century. This photograph utilized the veracity of the daguerreotype, the status of the partnership, and the lure of Taylor’s signature to attract customers eager to authenticate their own documents.
Romer, Grant B. and Brian Wallis. Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes. (New York: Steidl, 2005) p. 474, pl. 1882.
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