Southern Gentleman Believed to be William Edmunds For want of more definitive information, I title this daguerreotype simply Southern Gentleman.It was discovered in New Orleans, but  is associated with Mississippi. I date it from the late 1840's, early 1850's.
	Mississippi Woman This daguerreotype was discovered along with the one above in the same box. It is for this reason I believe she is associated with the Edmunds family. Her jewelry has been painted in gold leaf. probably by the daguerreotypist, which was a common practice. One of the more interesting speculations my wife and I entertain regarding the image is whether she is with child or not.
	Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury CSN Matthew Fontaine Maury was a celebrated and internationally famous Naval figure well before the Civil War. In 1833, his active seagoing days were over due to a severe accident aboard ship. His Naval career was not over, however. Maury continued with the Navy with on shore administrative duties. Maury supervised the US Naval Observatory and with his 1855 textbook "The Physical Geography of the Sea," established oceanography as a new field for research. Maury became a commander in the Confederate Navy in 1861. Often at odds with Confederate Naval Secretary Mallory, Maury was a strong proponent of light heavily armed river craft as a means for thwarting the Union blockade. Maury was assigned to the James River defenses where he did admirable work. His greatest service to the Confederacy was as in England, however. In 1862 he went to England, where he used his international reputation to secure support and armaments for the Confederacy.

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