It’s a mid-19th century photographic portrait, embedded in a piece of wood. The wood in turn has hinges on it. A colleague of mine has several of these, and as they are not currently attached to anything, is curious as to how the hinges might have functioned.
PS I posted here because I thought it might be classified as an ‘antique’. If it is more appropriate elsewhere, kindly move it.
I seem to have misunderstood my colleague. The hinges are in fact attached to a cover, which closes over the portrait.
It’s just a portrait in a case. I’d date it to the late 1840s or early 1850s, with the caveat that I have a hard time dating men’s clothing from the mid-19th century, as it doesn’t show as much change as women’s clothing. It definitely looks pre-American Civil War to me, though.
It’s a daguerreotype.
The valuable ones would be of famous people or Civil War soldiers, in full dress, identifiable. Also, some of the cases can be quite valuable–most aren’t. I have a friend who has collected some of the cases which have embossed things(objects] such as the Monitor.
