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Life Image
We draw the viewer’s attention to what appears to be a missing button on the cuff of his suit-coat. And, if the reader will focus on his lap you will see what appears to be that very missing button with its thread attached! Thus, unbeknown to young Rockefeller, the button with the attached threat came off at the very moment he sat down to have the daguerreotype taken.
Knowing his fastidious nature, it is reasonable to assume that, when realizing the “button problem”, Rockefeller rejected his intended disposition of the daguerreotype, which may have been as a gift to his Mother, or future wife, Laura Celestia Spelman, whom he had met, in 1855, when they were both taking a bookkeeping course at Folsum’s Commercial College.
| Kaplan Collection | Known Images |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | Ambrotype likely not before 1860 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1880 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1895 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | No date |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1905 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1905 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1910 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | 1911 |
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| Daguerreotype likely 1855/1856 | No date |
John D. Rockefeller’s Hands
| Kaplan Collection | Known Images |
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The following videos were made by Bob Schmitt, the founder of Biometrica, Inc, which provides biometric facial identification security to casinos. All individuals who enter a Biometrica-covered casino are unobtrusively photographed, and compared to a large database of persons who for different reasons are not welcome patrons. He is one of the pioneers and leaders of the biometric facial identification industry.
Video 1
Video 2
Speaking of his wife, Laura Celestia Spelman, he said,
“Her judgment was always better than mine. Without her keen advice, I would be a poor man.”
Post-Script Thoughts–October 28, 2017
John D. Rockefeller
What a lovely young man he was. I remember saying, around the time I first saw this daguerreotype, that if this young man was courting my daughter, I would be delighted. His character is evident. It cannot be mistaken.