(CASED IMAGE)

Sale 2135 - Lot 1

Unsold

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

(CASED IMAGE)
Quarter-plate daguerreotype of the femme-fatale Martha Gilbert, whose accessories include 3 gold rings and other beautiful jewelry; with delicate hand-tinting in her cheeks and cuffs; in a leather case. A handwritten note inside the case describes the well-traveled adventures of the photograph. 1853

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Additional Details

The story associated with Miss Gilbert indicates she was a woman of considerable charms. The Lane brothers, of Boston, actively competed for her affections and apparently one of them married her. To demonstrate their respective passion, each stole the image (from her and one another) at various times. The fact that she's wearing 3 wedding band-like rings may be a visual metaphor.

The note reads: "Taken in Boston, 1853, given to Martha Gilbert; stolen by Joseph Lane, taken to Janesville, Wisconsin; stolen by John Lane. Taken to Chicago, stolen again by Joseph Lane and finally, in 1884, sent to the origin of the picture, Martha G. Lane Rudolphs, Barrick (sp?) Wood, Ill., Feb. 6, 1884."