Study chair with neck rests

• Dating: 1850

studio chair with neck rests dating from 1850-1860, acquired Germany

This is an elegant chair made of oak with embossed velvet upholstery. The chair has a height of almost 1 meter high, with a height of the seat approximately 42cms. The chair includes an adjustable headrest base iron, left gives the piece a height of about 1.27m

Leaving aside the beauty undeniable chair of our collection, there is an element that powerfully draws attention: the neck rests . This contraption, now totally unnecessary day, it was essential in the nineteenth century, when the use of the daguerreotype portrait pictures required exposure times really long .

There are lots of photographs and engravings in appearing people posing helped by such contraptions holding (sitting or standing), that leads us to think that actually pose for a portrait could be somewhat complicated.

Some pictures an ironical both which meant posing for a daguerreotype

Do not forget that people who posed for photographers at the time were until then used to pose for painters who, somehow, could" hide" the physical defects . Instead, before a daguerreotype, the reality could be less" friendly" with the portrait

To this is added that, as we said, the exhibits long could test the ability to stand still of the portraits and can result in faces or faces serious that did not reflect the best version of people who stood in front of the camera

For these reasons, as stated in the The Daguerreian Journal in 1851, was valued so highly positive ability of the photographer to the customer feel comfortable and experience to pose was not traumatic , sometimes even above technique. the charisma of the photographer and his ability to get customers comfortable to meet and distended before long exposure helped your customers They should be reflected more faithfully to reality and therefore will be more pleased with the outcome.