A daguerreotype portrait of Henry Fitz Jr taken some time during January, 1840.
An archive of very early photography is to be offered at auction in the US next month.
The collection includes 22 daguerreotype portraits of Henry Fitz Jr (1808-63) and his family. Fitz, a New York city telescope maker, was among the first to conduct experiments with the daguerreotype process. His knowledge helped to develop the first patented American camera and the first photographic portrait studio in the US.