Historical Gallery: A Lottery to Benefit the Originals (Main View)

This assemblage of eight daguerreotypes in a single frame shows four women and five men symmetrically arranged, all apparently the inhabitants of a French asylum for the insane. An elaborate placard for a prize lottery whose purpose was to raise funds for the facility, the daguerreotypes' intent was surely to persuade contributors that its cause was worthy and humane.

In a sardonic twist, the words printed on the card, Galerie Historique,refer to a title generally used to describe published collections of biographies of famous monarchs and statesmen.