…hauntingly cool antique framed leather bound daguerreotype portrait, padded stamped leather exterior, silk padded interior on one side, portrait on alternate side, clasp still locks closed as shown, however binding on other side has split in two pieces separate pieces and antique wear as shown. read more about daguerreotype portraits below. 

approx: 3.75” x 3.25” x 0.5”

from the web…

A daguerreotype is a photographic image created using a direct-positive process on a silver-plated copper sheet that doesn't require a negative. The process was invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre and was the first commercially successful photographic process, popular from 1839–1860. Daguerreotypes are known for their clarity, detail, and sharp, mirror-like surface, but they are also heavy, fragile, and vulnerable to damage. To preserve daguerreotypes, they are often kept in special cases or housings to protect the metal plate from air.