DAGUERREIAN UNKNOWN

Servants of Benjamin W. Fosdick, Savannah

Details

DAGUERREIAN UNKNOWN
Servants of Benjamin W. Fosdick, Savannah
Half-plate daguerreotype. 1854. Accompanied by a handwritten note in ink Servants of B.W. Fosdick in Savannah, 1854. Minda, Leah, Sarah, Tom + Little Paul. Brass mat. Contained in a leather case.

Lot Essay

Benjamin W. Fosdick and his partner Octavus Cohen were commissioned merchants in Savannah, Georgia. The firm, Cohen & Fosdick, mainly dealt in the trading of cotton, rice and other commodities and dissolved upon the death of Fosdick in 1854 of yellow fever. Fosdick, originally from Massachusetts, and his wife are listed in Savannah's 1850 census records. This group portrait is a remarkably sensitive and elegant portrayal of a servant family for the period.