Silas Condit Halsey

PeriodCirca 1850

Place MadeProbably Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumDaguerreotype

Dimensions3.63 × 3.13 × 1 in. (9.2 × 7.9 × 2.5 cm)

ClassificationsDaguerreotypes and Ambrotypes

Credit LineGift of the Halsey Family, 2002

Object number427-496

DescriptionA two-image daguerreotype of Silas Condit Halsey, with left hand image of Halsey from the waist up, dressed in a slightly tilted top hat, light-colored silk waistcoat, dark coat, large necktie in bow, with what appears to be an embroidered multi-pointed star in the center of the bow, and a watch chain picked out in gilt. The second image on the right had side show's Halsey's lower half, with the bottom edge of his frock coat, boldly patterned plaid wool trousers, the tips of his shoes, a walking stick, and a ring on the little finger of his hand. Both images are set into gilt frames in a gutta percha case.
Curatorial RemarksFrenchmen Nicephore Niepce (1765-1833) and Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) experimented with permanent photographic images for years. After Niepce's death, Daguerre continued with the process. In January of 1839, the announcement of the method of capturing a permanent photographic image using daguerre's process was announced. A sheet of copper was plated with silver, then cleaned and polished to a mirror shine. The plate was coated in iodine vapor, then exposed to light for a time period (about three to thirty minutes). The resulting image was developed using mercury vapor, then fixed with additional chemicals. Although permanent, daguerreotypes were delicate and normally placed in protective cases, covered in glass and with back and front covers often made of gutta percha. There were at least three daguerreotypists working in Newark in 1850, including Benjamin F. Powelson, Justice W. Hale, and George W. Prosch. It is most likely that Halsey posed for his unique portrait in Newark, although the image - like the majority of daguerreotype images - is unsigned.NotesSilas Condit Halsey (1829 - 1906), was the son of Samuel Halsey (1801 - 1884), one of the first leather manufacturers in Newark, and Mary Hutchings (no dates). His brother, George A. Halsey, was a New Jersey member of Congress. Prior to the Civil war, Halsey was in the clothing business in Virginia, and later he opened the clothing firm of Halsey, Hunter & Halsey, which was located on Broad Street in Newark. During the war, he was appointed an aide-de-camp to a Union general, became a major and made assistant Quartermaster General. After the war he continued in the clothing business and retired by 1875 to pursue travel and social interests. He attended the 1885 inauguration of President Harrison and was appointed to be United States Consul at Sonneberg, Germany from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the honorary Essex Club and the Washington Association of Morristown. Silas Halsey died June 12, 1906 and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark.

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