Sir Crewe by Ramsay Richard Reinagle.

Fancy affording ourselves a fleeting expedition to the late Georgian period? 

We should pause to fix our gaze on this quite affable gent-perhaps only by his painter's hand, we can't be certain-and his bonny little offspring, John, a boy of 4 years in this painting by Ramsay Richard Reinagle. We're immersing ourselves in the late 1820's here, and the man we're gazing at is nobleman Sir George Crewe, 8th Baronet. He's looking mighty swish in his dark, high-collared coat, waistcoat and, goodness, just check out that sumptuous cravat. The high shirt collar was extremely à la mode in the 1820's, and take a close squiz of Sir Crewe's come-hither side whiskers-aren't they quite a dream? It's clear that our subject, Sir Crewe, fancied himself a fashionable man. Little John Crewe is just as equally trendy for the time period. One day, as an older gent, he would sport sideburns so very long and bushy he nearly tripped over them. 

Belgian studio portrait...

Now then, isn't this Belgian family portrait, taken c. 1912, just utterly charming? Daguerrian Dandy extends gratitude and a gentlemanly tip of the hat to Christophe Van Walleghem for this studio shot of a handsomely-attired father, mother and young master. An utter delight!

British bovine...

Next up on the programme is selection of highly esteemed British bovine. 

The five exceptional specimens at the top are Englishman J. Bailey, 'Studies of Prize-Winning Red Devon Cattle'. Next up is Henry F. Stone and his magnificent beast, a Durham ox by Thomas Flintoff and finally, an early 19th century etching featuring another high-ranking Durham ox by John Boultbee. 

Old sawbones...the Civil War surgeon.

I declare I wouldn't mind that fellow to the far left with the unruly sideburns tending to me-what a delicious profile, young sir.

From 1840's British daguerreotypes and handsome sideburns, we progress now to the terrors of the American Civil War, where in this image, courtesy of The Burns Archive, we witness a group of gents posed in a Civil War amputation scene in a studio setting.  U.S army surgeon, Dr. S Baird Wolf stands to the right of the image; his assistants hold a bottle and a saw. The soldier, slumped feebly in his chair, casts a dramatic gaze heavenward. A surgeon ('sawbones', or 'old quinine', as they rapidly became known during the war) proficient at amputations could generally perform the operation in around 10 minutes (and, according to an article published on the Ohio State University's website on Civil War battlefield medicine, approx 75% of all amputation surgeries were successful, which to seems rather high considering the undesirable conditions many field surgeons worked in, in addition to inadequate numbers of surgeons, medical supplies and resources, appropriate space and such). 

Daguerreian Dandy declares we shall see another image or two relating to the Civil War in an upcoming post.

A Victorian gent and his most admirable sideburns...

Sideburns maketh the man.

Take a moment with me, if you will, to dreamily admire and perhaps even consider replicating, this fine set of 1840's sideburns.

You're looking at a truly splendid British daguerreotype example, of which there are far fewer examples compared to their transatlantic cousins, the reason for this being a complicated licencing issue and subsequent high costs. The owner, 'Photos of the Past' on Flickr, notes that the date the image was taken was recorded on the reverse: September 1, 1849.

Just another example of how marvellously the British did sideburns in the Victorian era.

Georgian humour at it's finest...

A Cruikshank effort? I certainly hope so.

Smutty Georgian literature and toasty buns in the library.

19th century Gents and their Penny-Farthings...

It's a marvellous day for a daring cycling jaunt in the countryside and photographic studio. How's that father and his bonny little son penny-farthing cycling ensemble? Goodness gracious. 

Daguerreian Dandy feels compelled to put this question to long-suffering readers: What's the difference between a well dressed bicyclist and a poorly dressed tricyclist? Attire.

A bibliophile's delight: Madresfield Court, Worcestershire

Cigar smoke and antique pages. 

For the bibliomaniacs lurking among us, cast a dreamy gaze upon this scrumptious view of the library in Madresfield Court, Worcestershire. An ancient seat dating back to late Medieval days, the structure has of course received many facelifts over it's expansive history, with the main refurbishment taking place in the 1860's. For those fancy pants blue-blooded folk that simply MUST have everything and then some, this handsome, elderly Grade 1-listed structure offers inhabitants a moat, an Arts and Crafts decorated chapel and a fantasy garden one really wouldn't mind becoming lost in. Daguerreian Dandy must now beg to be excused for the time being-I hear a Wilkie Collins novel, a pair toasty slippers and a fine cigar hollering my name.... 

An American Portrait

Back in the 1950's, there was a popular challenge between young folk of the era to see how many could pack into a phone box in a sardine-like fashion. Jolly good fun, I'm sure. Well, back in the 1850's, a similar challenge emerged-'how many youngsters can we fit in this here daguerreotype portrait?' Personally, I feel there was room for a few more folks here. Nevertheless, this is, of course, a marvellous 1/4 plate daguerreotype of school class-Petersham school in Massachusetts, probably taken around the very early 1850's. Take out your monocle and zoom in on the kiddies and you'll notice for the most part it's a good example of the side parts for boys and middle parts for girls rule. Most of the older girls are wearing collared dresses, while the younger ladies wear off-the-shoulder frocks up the front (plus one young man in a frock and side part).

This impressive group image is courtesy of Skinner Auctions.