This cased daguerreotype features a bearded young man seated with his hands resting in front of him. He wears a dark jacket, unbuttoned, and a vest underneath. A pattern neck-tie adorns his outfit. The man gazes off as the photographer captures this moment in time.

The quality of the daguerreotype here gives us so much detail and allows us a clear window into history. Although there is some solarization where the mat meets the plate and some scratches on the upper right and on the subject’s left hand, the detail of this photograph is simply amazing.

In taking the image out of the case, one will find that the image is no longer sealed; the glass, mat, and image are all separate, including some tape that has become dried out with age. However, the identity of the sitter is revealed in the back of the case. Written twice is “Mr. George Weaver” and the date, “1856.” Although there is no concrete evidence to give us an inclination of where this photo was taken, this image was acquired from another dealer who stated the image was supposedly found in the 1980s in northern Maryland.

Mr. George Weaver of Gettysburg was the son of Samuel Weaver, the man who was tasked with the exhumation and re-interment of Gettysburg dead during the creation of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Samuel opened a photography studio in 1852 on Chambersburg Street. Five years later, he moved the business to his home on West Middle Street, and about 1860 Samuel passed on the business to his eldest son, Peter, who took the business from Gettysburg to Hanover.

Samuel had three sons: Peter, George, and Rufus. Peter took over his father’s photography business. Rufus took over re-interment when his father was killed in 1871, but little is known about George. Here’s what we do know: George was born in 1838 to Samuel and his wife, Elizabeth, in Talladega Springs, Alabama, where George spent much of his youth. George attended Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College and was set to graduate in 1856 (the same year he sat for this daguerreotype) but was refused graduation on the grounds of “extreme youth.” At that time, George would’ve been 18. George graduated one year later in 1857 at age 19. George spent his life building a family with his wife, Lucilla, and a mercantile business in several large cities such as Philadelphia and New Orleans, eventually returning and settling in Gettysburg. George died on November 11^th 1917 at the ripe old age of 80 of chronic interstitial nephritis. He is buried with his family in Evergreen Cemetery.

The image comes housed in a leatherette case that shows much wear to the edges and the faces of the case. The spine is broken but has been reattached by adhering black felt to the spine.

This is the only known image of George Weaver to exist.    [cls [ph:L]

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