Special Antique Boxwood 24 Inch Carpenter's Rule with Engraved Copper Mend antique daguerreotype in case but it has definitely lived

but it has definitely lived in this 19th c silhouette type frame for quite a long time

my very favorite subject

and think it's a real beauty--and wonderfully direct

and I have a feeling that this particular woman loomed large in our artist's psyche

Special Antique Boxwood 24 Inch Carpenter's Rule with Engraved Copper Mend antique daguerreotype in case but it has definitely livedThis is a real beauty of an early boxwood rule to begin with, but what makes it really special, and what won my heart, is the wrapped mend at the hinged end (done in copper I believe) that was engraved on both sides to precisely match the numbers on the wood. This tells me that this was a much used and much valued rule, and the great care taken with the repair certainly indicates that a long life for it was yet anticipated. There is no mark anywhere