A fine daguerreotype in its Union case, depicting a high-quality couple. Highlighted with gold. The man is holding his wife by the shoulder. The Union case is set with Pinchbeck mounts.
 The daguerreotype was the first photographic process, developed by Nicéphore Niépce and later Louis Daguerre, and introduced to the world (except the United Kingdom) by France in 1839. It is both a negative and a positive, hence its characteristic mirror effect. In the 19th century, they were also poetically called "mirrors that remember."
 Given the cost and technical difficulties, it will only be used for about ten years in France and will be replaced by other processes.
 However, there are later daguerreotypes, particularly American or Anglo-Saxon ones.