1421
was pressed into molds which had die-engraved designs.
The lid and bottom of each case were held together with
metal hinges. “Union” cases were so named because of
the combining of materials to produce a new substance,
the earliest plastic.
From its inception daguerreotype was immediately
popular in the United States and the demand for these
portraits was overwhelming. In order to protect their
delicate surfaces, daguerreotypes were, at fi rst, placed
under glass and fi tted into wooden frames. A much
more popular and portable method of protecting da-
guerreotypes was the use of the jewelry case, follow-
ing the fashion established for portrait miniatures. As
the production of daguerreotype images dramatically
increased, so did the demand for cases to house them.
Throughout the 1840s and early 1850s photographic
cases were generally designed as shallow wooden boxes
covered with thin sheets of leather or pressed paper to
simulate leather.
The plastic photographic case industry began with
the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury,
Connecticut, and the daguerreotypist, Samuel Peck. The
Scovill Company, a partnership between brothers James
M.L. Scovill and William H. Scovill, was one of the ear-
liest brass manufacturing companies in America. They
had experience in making rolled plate metal, including
silver plated copper sheets. One early supplier for cases
to the Scovills was Samuel Peck of New Haven, Con-
necticut who began his career as a daguerreotype artist
in 1844. By 1850 he was manufacturing cases and soon
began a co-partnership with the Scovills that was named
Peck and Company. In addition to leather and paper
cases, Peck began creating “fi ne cases” including those
made from papier-mâché. Perhaps it was the technique
used in making these cases which inspired Peck to his
greatest innovation. By May of 1852 Samuel Peck and
his brother-in-law, Halvor Halvorson began producing
daguerreotype cases molded from plastic.
Another important early plastic case manufac-
turer was Alfred P. Critchlow, a button maker from
Haydenville, Massachusetts. Critchlow moved to Flor-
ence, Massachusetts and soon began experimenting
with steam presses to mold shellac and gutta-percha
compounds. He was producing plastic daguerreotype
cases as early as 1852, soon after Peck began his work.
Critchlow entered into partnership with Samuel L. Hill
and Isaac Parsons in 1853; this new company issued a
line of standard size cases, from which dozens of differ-
ent designs have been identifi ed. Beginning about 1857
the photographic supply fi rm of Holmes, Booth and
Hayden in New York City were also actively engaged
in plastic case manufacturing.
Great Britain was an early market for American made
union cases, especially those with a distinctly British
appeal such as “Sir Henry Havelock,” “The Calmady
Children,” “Sir Roger de Coverly,” and “The Highland
Chief.” Peck cases were being used there soon after
their introduction in America. John Atkinson and Eli-
sha Mander were two importers of these cases based in
Liverpool and Birmingham. Some union case examples
found in Great Britain have labels which read, “Patent
American Union Cases.” These were sold by Mander
and were probably re-labelled for his market in cases
made by Littlefi eld, Parsons & Co. or Critchlow. At
least one fi rm manufactured union cases in Britain in
the early 1860s—John Smith of Birmingham. The rare
ninth-plate case, “Amazon on Horseback Being At-
tacked by a Tigress,” was probably created by his fi rm,
although none of the known examples carries a trade
label. The dramatic design was based on the sculpture
of the same name by Auguste Kiss which was a major
attraction at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace,
Hyde Park, in 1851. Brookes and Adams were two die
engravers who created case designs for the British mar-
ket. Of major signifi cance are two British patents made
by John Smith for a thermoplastic mixture “...capable
of being used for jewel cases, photographic cases, and
‘horn’ buttons in a variety of colours.” The infl uences
of this relatively small group of British dealers and
manufacturers were important to a market which had
been exclusively American.
Union case designs range from traditional subjects,
such as patriotism and religious sentiment, to scenes
from romantic literature, children’s stories, mythology,
and classical allusions, as well as vignettes of Victo-
rian domestic life. Patriotic designs include “Shield
with Flags, Cannons, and Liberty Cap,” “Union and
Constitution,” “The Eagle at Bay,” and “Constitution
and the Laws.” Religious motifs decorate “The Lord’s
Prayer,” “Daniel in the Lions’ Den,” “The Holy Fam-
ily,” “Rebekah at the Well,” and “The Church Win-
dow.” Children’s stories and Victorian sentiment were
especially popular design themes with titles such as
“Bobby Shafto,” “See Saw, Margarey Daw,” and “The
Faithful Hound.” American history theme cases include
“The Landing of Columbus,” “The Sweet Potato Din-
ner,” “The Capture of Major André,” “The Warning at
the Green Spring,” and “The Washington Monument,
Richmond, Virginia.” Many of these designs were
based on prints, paintings, sculptures, and other works
of art. Some die engravers were completely faithful in
their translations for case designs, such as Smith and
Hartmann, who copied Emanuel Leutze’s epic painting
“Washington Crossing the Delaware” in almost precise
detail. Geometric, scroll, and fl oral designs were also
used extensively on union cases—about 70 percent of
all case designs. Plastic, or union, cases were manufac-
tured in several standard sizes from the largest whole
plate size (7 3/8" x 9 3/8"), half plate (5" × 6 3/8"),
quarter plate (4" × 4 7/8"), sixth plate (3 ½" × 3 ¾"),