Unidentified Woman
One popular hairstyles of the Crinoline Period was the "Victoria Loops." The hair was centered parted, and then looped down around the ears into a simple chignon at the back of the head. As you can see in this daguerreotype, the loops began to gain in fullness creating a weird puffiness on the side of the head.
Half Plate Daguerreotype 1854
This half plate daguerreotype is of sisters Harriet Cooper Wetmore and Cornelia Brower Wetmore of New London, Connecticut. This image was taken in 1854 just one year prior to Cornelia's (right) marriage to Richard Haven Chapell of the same city. The clarity is so good you can clearly see that Harriet had a rather severe case of acne!