Quarter plate by Mathew Brady (1822-1896). A rare portrait of the aging Cass, taken in 1849. Housed in wall frame and accompanied by original backing with penned inscription: Lewis Cass. Michigan / U.S. Senate taken in / the Capital at Washington / March 1849. Cass (1782-1866) soldier, diplomat, statesman, was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. Educated at Exeter Academy, he moved to Marietta, Ohio in 1800 and established a law practice. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Cass answered the call, joining the Ohio forces in Dayton as an officer in the state militia, and was later appointed Colonel in the regular army and major general of volunteers. He was on the line at the Battle of the Thames, and was appointed Governor of the Michigan Territory, a position he held for 18 years. In 1831 he was called to serve as President Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War. His tenure in this position was marked by the Black Hawk War as well as negotiations with Indians in Alabama and Georgia. He left this position in 1836 for health reasons, and was named United States Minister to France. In 1845 Cass was elected as a United States Senator from Michigan, and was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1848 and 1852. Cass died in Detroit in 1866. The daguerreian history of this image seems unambiguous: the Cass portrait was advertised by Mathew Brady in Doggett's New York City Directory for 1851-52 as part of a gallery exhibit of celebrities and famous Americans (see Stapp, 1978). Stapp (ibid: 304) records one known daguerreotype of Cass along with at least three engravings made from daguerreotypes. This plate is not listed, and is presumed to be previously unrecorded. A whole plate daguerreotype from this same sitting sold in these rooms June 11, 2010, lot 270.
Quarter plate by Mathew Brady (1822-1896). A rare portrait of the aging Cass, taken in 1849. Housed in wall frame and accompanied by original backing with penned inscription: Lewis Cass. Michigan / U.S. Senate taken in / the Capital at Washington / March 1849. Cass (1782-1866) soldier, diplomat, statesman, was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. Educated at Exeter Academy, he moved to Marietta, Ohio in 1800 and established a law practice. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Cass answered the call, joining the Ohio forces in Dayton as an officer in the state militia, and was later appointed Colonel in the regular army and major general of volunteers. He was on the line at the Battle of the Thames, and was appointed Governor of the Michigan Territory, a position he held for 18 years. In 1831 he was called to serve as President Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War. His tenure in this position was marked by the Black Hawk War as well as negotiations with Indians in Alabama and Georgia. He left this position in 1836 for health reasons, and was named United States Minister to France. In 1845 Cass was elected as a United States Senator from Michigan, and was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1848 and 1852. Cass died in Detroit in 1866. The daguerreian history of this image seems unambiguous: the Cass portrait was advertised by Mathew Brady in Doggett's New York City Directory for 1851-52 as part of a gallery exhibit of celebrities and famous Americans (see Stapp, 1978). Stapp (ibid: 304) records one known daguerreotype of Cass along with at least three engravings made from daguerreotypes. This plate is not listed, and is presumed to be previously unrecorded. A whole plate daguerreotype from this same sitting sold in these rooms June 11, 2010, lot 270.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
