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"Occupational portrait of young man pressing cloth with an iron. Note in case behind daguerreotype: Aron McGove, Lebanon, Dec. 18, 1848." Sixth-plate daguerreotype, photographer unknown. Library of Congress. View full size.
What is fascinating, is to look in his eyes, even though now only an image on polished metal, and to know that those eyes look in to other eyes that were seeing in the 1700's.
how modern he looks. He is really goodlooking, too. First thing I thought of when I saw the picture.
How heavy was that iron??
And thank you so much for this site. It's fascinating to see what people wore, and the places they lived, etc.
Dave - Thanks for the info, and a real great thanks for putting this terrific site together, it's the best historical site anyone could find and enjoy. I come here every day during my lunch hour. I've always found history a favorite subject and did very well in school with it. Wish we had this back in my school days 50's -70's. it's as good or even better as the History Channel, I've learned and found out a lot of things that I didn't know about. Thanks again for your work in making Shorpy.
[Team Shorpy thanks you! - Dave]
Was this photo digitally enhanced? If not, it's really amazing how clear it is for a 160 yr old photo to hold up so well.
[Daguerreotypes are the sharpest photographs you'll ever see. - Dave]
Back when an iron was actually a giant hunk of iron, his was a profession that would have required even greater arm strength than the locksmith shown earlier. That "iron" was solid.
Probably good for getting the wrinkles out but I'd hate to think how his shoulders felt at the end of the day.
Well, hell...yet another stunningly hot guy who died before any of us were even born. And this one even knows how to do laundry!
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