Anonymous American Photographer

sixth-plate daguerreotype of William Otto Emerson, Four Months Old, Sleeping with a Pocket Watch, with remnants of the original seal, a typewritten identification affixed to the reverse, with convex cover glass, in a black lacquer 'Bijoux' case with discreet mother-of-pearl inlay, 1856; accompanied by a Lock of the Sitter's Hair, and an Autograph Note by the Sitter's Mother in pencil

The typewritten note on the reverse of the plate reads: '"In the All Togeather [sic] at four months old, William Otto Emerson, the same who: now lives in Haywards, California, at Palm Cottage. Taken when liveing [sic] on the Prairies of Illinois in 1856. Union McHenry County, Ill. Arrived in Hayward, 1875.' The note is amended, 'Arrived in Placerville, Cal. in 1870,' in an unidentified hand in pencil.