This is the only known daguerreotype of Sarah Helen Whitman, taken circa 1856 by the Providence daguerreotypist Joseph White, whose studio (L. B. White & Co.) was located at 44 Westminster Street.

Whitman is posed in profile view, her dark brown hair peeking past her accustomed headwear, secured by a ribbon tied in a bow under her chin. Her dress is cut below the shoulders and layered with a shawl, both of which are known styles of the sitter. She was 53 years old when this daguerreotype was taken.

This daguerreotype (along with the “Whitman” daguerreotype of Poe) is in the collection of Brown University, stored in the archives of the John Hay Library. Both daguerreotypes underwent restoration in 2013 and were added to Brown’s digital repository.