History reborn. Lost for almost 175 years, a striking photo of John Deere, the most famous craftsman in the annals of agriculture, has been found, according to the Middlebury Museum.
Muscled neck, heavy jaw, and impatient pose, Deere is captured in a 3” x 4” daguerreotype taken between 1851 and 1856. Currently on display in Middlebury, Vermont, the image is remarkable, particularly considering Deere largely is absent from the historical photo record—beyond stodgy, chest-high pictures or statesman-like profiles.
“It’s incredible and definitely him,” says Frederick Rock, renowned antique expert and owner of Westchester Fine Art. “That is the man. That is John Deere. That picture speaks and tells its own story.”
“Who In The Hell Else?”
There were two.
On Oct. 5, 1994, a pair of Deere daguerreotypes, valued at $10,000-15,000, went under the gavel at Sotheby’s, listed as: Portrait of Man in Frock Coat and Cravat, and Portrait of a Man Posed with Plow Handles. The same man featured in both pictures, with a change of dress and apparel between shots. Adios to the coat and tie, and welcome to a whip and straw hat.
As noted by Sotheby’s in its accompanying sale catalogue: The forthright gaze and aggressive pose of the man posed with plow handles indicate an individual of considerable ambition and tremendous purpose.
The daguerreotypes, described by Sotheby’s as, “both possibly portraits of John Deere,” were taken by an “anonymous American photographer,” between roughly 1851-1856. “If this is indeed John Deere (1804-1886),” Sotheby’s stated, “then the portrait would depict him in his late 40’s or early 50’s, soon after his move to Moline and on the verge of his national success.”
The pair of daguerreotypes, particularly the horizontally-oriented Man Posed with Plow Handles, show a character that matches well with a physical description of Deere from a January 1937 article in Implement & Tractor: “He was of impressive stature, though only about six feet tall, but with massive shoulders and arms which readily indicated the physical prowess that was his. ... A heavy head of hair crowned a rather high forehead and treated with the common abandon of his day added materially to the impression of physical strength.”
After purchase at Sotheby’s, the two reputed Deere images went separate directions, into the hands of several private dealers. In 2007, Rock, owner of Hammond House Fine Art & Antiques and Westchester Fine Art, found opportunity to buy Man Posed with Plow Handles.
“I stumbled across the daguerreotype, and it was listed as ‘possibly John Deere,’” Rock recalls. “The daguerreotype shows John Deere posing with one of his plows that he made famous and the physical resemblance to the known photos of Deere is exceptional.”
“The man in this daguerreotype exudes character and the image is screaming out that he’s somebody special,” Rock adds. “Who in the hell else is sitting for a promotional picture in the 1850s, carrying themselves in such a way, and posing with a plow?”
Silver On Copper
In 2015, Portrait of a Man Posed with Plow Handles found a permanent home in Vermont, at the Middlebury College Museum of Art—literally 1 mile from the blacksmith shop where Deere swung a hammer as a young man between 1821-1825. Born in Rutland, 40 miles from Middlebury, Deere left Vermont for Illinois in 1836, shortly after igniting an agricultural revolution through industrial scale production of a self-scouring steel plow.
By the early 1840s, Deere was cranking out advertisements, such as the following plow pronouncement in the Rock River Register in 1843: John Deere respectfully informs his friends and customers, the agricultural community, of this and adjoining counties, and dealers in Ploughs, that he is now prepared to fill orders for the same on presentation. The Moldboard of this well, and so favorably known PLOUGH, is made of wrought iron, and the share of steel, 5/16 of an inch thick, which carries a fine sharp edge. The whole face of the moldboard and share is ground smooth, so that it scours perfectly bright in any soil, and will not choke in the foulest of ground…
The Middlebury College Museum of Art purchased Portrait of a Man Posed with Plow Handles from Rock’s auction house. The image is under the care of Josephine Rodgers, Middlebury’s curator of collections, with oversight of 6,000-plus objects. (Middlebury also owns other historic Deere-related items.)
“This John Deere daguerreotype is in fantastic condition,” Rodgers describes. “It’s in the original casing, in faded red velvet and lined in gilding. Currently, it’s displayed in the early photography section of our museum.”
“There’s such stark beauty to the image,” she continues. “A daguerreotype captures the subject with more depth than a digital photo, and in this particular daguerreotype, you can see Deere almost straining to hold his position, likely directed to maintain his posture for a long exposure.”
Daguerreotypes produced highly detailed images on copper sheeting plated with a thin coat of silver. According to Library of Congress, exposure times for early period daguerreotypes could be a torturous 3 to 15 minutes, with later exposures reduced to 1 minute or less. The daguerreotype era lasted from approximately 1839-1860.
“This is an occupational daguerreotype,” Rodgers adds. “In the image, Deere is essentially modeling his occupation; he’s modeling what he does or makes. That’s because the purpose of the image was for replication on a poster or in some type of advertisement, which was a common process for the day. Therefore, I don’t believe this is the only copy.”
Unicorns
Dated pre-Civil War, circa 1851-1856, Portrait of a Man Posed with Plow Handles overlaps Deere’s residency in Moline, Illinois. When and where might he have sat for an occupational daguerreotype?
Rock believes the most probable explanation is an exposition. “I think the detective work could be done to get close to where this was taken. Where did Deere exhibit his plow in the 1850s? At an exposition or fair, it would have been common to have daguerreotype makers on site,” Rock says. “By the 1850s, Deere certainly was in more than enough money to afford daguerreotypes or whatever sort of promotional materials he wanted.”
At the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the daguerreotype rests in a light-sensitive case. “It’s available for everyone to see,” Rodgers says. “A light comes on in the case whenever someone stands in front of it. For us, it’s a wonderful teaching tool and tells the story of photography, marketing, John Deere, and our community.”
Whether due to financial reality early in his career, or a disdain of the lens, or pure happenchance, outstanding photographs of Deere are unicorns, particularly for a figure of such historical stature.
“I have absolutely no doubt this is John Deere,” Rock concludes. “It’s an amazing piece and worth a very significant amount of money. I’m so glad it ended up at the Middlebury Museum—where it belongs.”
“The provenance is genuine,” Rodgers concurs. “This daguerreotype is John Deere. Somewhere lost, I think there is another copy of this or an advertising poster waiting to be found.”
For more articles from Chris Bennett (cbennett@farmjournal.com or 662-592-1106), see:
Corn and Cocaine: Roger Reaves and the Most Incredible Farm Story Never Told
American Gothic: Farm Couple Nailed In Massive $9M Crop Insurance Fraud
Priceless Pistol Found After Decades Lost in Farmhouse Attic
Cottonmouth Farmer: The Insane Tale of a Buck-Wild Scheme to Corner the Snake Venom Market
Power vs. Privacy: Landowner Sues Game Wardens, Challenges Property Intrusion
Tractorcade: How an Epic Convoy and Legendary Farmer Army Shook Washington, D.C.
