This is a beautiful volume that masterfully illuminates the career of a little known but gifted daguerrean, Thomas M. Easterly. Historian Alan Trachtenberg called this book "simply the most accomplished and most important study of an American artist in photography yet produced." This beautiful volume was a finalist for the internationally recognized 1996 Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the American Association of Museums' 1995 Museums Publications Design Competition.