Chess arrived in the United States during the colonial period, brought by European settlers. By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the game had gained a modest following among intellectuals in urban centers such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. By the mid-19th century, chess was growing in popularity, aided by publications such as The Chess Monthly and the emergence of national competitions.

Born in New Orleans, Paul Morphy (1837-1884) displayed an exceptional aptitude for chess from an early age. He grew up in high society where chess and music were common leisure activities and highly encouraged by his mother, a musically gifted woman from a prominent French Creole family. After learning chess at just eight years old, Morphy swiftly ranked among the nation’s top players by thirteen. In 1857, he won the first American Chess Congress, earning the title of U.S. Champion. The following year, he traveled to Europe where he defeated many of the continent’s foremost masters and was widely acclaimed as the world’s preeminent chess player, though no formal mechanism yet existed to confer that title.

Returning to the United States in 1859 to great public acclaim, Morphy soon withdrew from competitive play. Renowned for his clarity of strategy and brilliant tactical sacrifices, he transformed the understanding of positional development in chess. Despite his early retirement from the game, he is remembered as one of its most gifted and influential figures. With few photographs of Morphy in existence, the present lot is an incredibly rare image showcasing him in fierce competition mode, in his element, playing chess.

From humble beginnings in an antique shop, the Norman Mintz Daguerreotype Collection holds a group of singular and highly recognizable images of early American photography, including the frontispiece for The American Daguerreotype, published in 1983 by authors and collectors Floyd and Marion Rinhart. In 1967, Norman Mintz opened Time Out Antiques just a few blocks away from New York City’s Gramercy Park. During its nine-year tenure, the small yet robust shop became a local staple specializing in Folk Art, Tiffany-style lighting, Victorian furniture, and, of course, daguerreotypes. The 1970s witnessed a major post-war rekindling of interest in the daguerreotype, and it was at this time that Mintz acquired an impressive cache of over five-thousand daguerreotypes. Many sold through the shop, however Mintz retained many significant works after Time Out Antiques closed in 1972, including a rare image of legendary chess player Paul Morphy. Now, over fifty years later, the foundation of the Mintz collection is offered here for the first time.