Museum Monday!

A c1850 Spit Curl Beauty, p.130

This week's Museum Monday is one of my favorite daguerreotypes. I know her as LRM picture archive 130, aka my Spit Curl Beauty.  Aside from the hand tinting and  2 baskets in the picture, there is just a ton of stuff going on in this view that makes it a favorite for me. This is a  privileged child~ did you know the cost of having a single daguerreotype made was more than what some working class people made in an entire year? She is standing with a proud, erect posture~ holding her basket on one arm, with the toe of one foot kicked out sideways. If you click and view it larger, the folds of her knit stockings can be seen peeking out from under that one pantaloon leg that has crept up a bit. Her sun hat is kicked back on her head and shows off those picture perfect curls~ I wonder how long it took her Mamma to do her hair?