The recently discovered daguerreotype of...William Marks?

[PacMan]

I think the recent discovery is very exciting.  I, however, do not believe it is Joseph Smith (although, it is growing on me). I find too many differences in the picture and Joseph Smith's death mask.  I find differences between the picture and portraits by those that had seen Joseph.  And I find differences between the picture and descriptions of those that knew him well (bushy eyebrows, a full, extended upper lip, the cleft chin, etc.).

Rather, I think it may be a picture of William Marks, the President of the Nauvoo Stake.

I find obvious similarities between the newly found picture and a picture of Marks dated from the late 1860s to the early 1870s (both below); e.g. the mouth, the mouth lines, the eyes, the ears, the uneven chin, the hair color, etc..  Of course, it'd difficult because of both the difference in the picture angle and tilt of the heads, Marks' quasi-scowl (pulling his eyebrows together), and the difference in age.

Further, William Marks was born in 1792. So, he would have been 13 years older than Joseph Smith. At the time of the martyrdom, Marks would have been 51. To me, the recently discovered picture more closely resembles a 51 year old man than a 38 year old (Joseph Smith). In addition, Emma and Marks were friends, with Emma supporting Marks as Joseph's successor. That, no doubt, led to Marks becoming the first counselor to Joseph Smith III in the RLDS Church.  Consequently, there would be good reason for the Smith family to have and bequeath the locket with a picture of a younger Marks over the past 150+ years.

If there is one thing to undermine this theory, I think it is that the eye colors do not appear to match.

Edited July 24, 2022 by PacMan

[LoudmouthMormon]

It's clearly a daguerreotype of Ethan Smith, author of View of the Hebrews.

Edited July 24, 2022 by LoudmouthMormon

[Scott Lloyd]

15 hours ago, PacMan said:

I think the recent discovery is very exciting.  I, however, do not believe it is Joseph Smith (although, it is growing on me). I find too many differences in the picture and Joseph Smith's death mask.  I find differences between the picture and portraits by those that had seen Joseph.  And I find differences between the picture and descriptions of those that knew him well (bushy eyebrows, a full, extended upper lip, the cleft chin, etc.).

Rather, I think it may be a picture of William Marks, the President of the Nauvoo Stake.

I find obvious similarities between the newly found picture and a picture of Marks dated from the late 1860s to the early 1870s (both below); e.g. the mouth, the mouth lines, the eyes, the ears, the uneven chin, the hair color, etc..  Of course, it'd difficult because of both the difference in the picture angle and tilt of the heads, Marks' quasi-scowl (pulling his eyebrows together), and the difference in age.

Further, William Marks was born in 1792. So, he would have been 13 years older than Joseph Smith. At the time of the martyrdom, Marks would have been 51. To me, the recently discovered picture more closely resembles a 51 year old man than a 38 year old (Joseph Smith). In addition, Emma and Marks were friends, with Emma supporting Marks as Joseph's successor. That, no doubt, led to Marks becoming the first counselor to Joseph Smith III in the RLDS Church.  Consequently, there would be good reason for the Smith family to have and bequeath the locket with a picture of a younger Marks over the past 150+ years.

If there is one thing to undermine this theory, I think it is that the eye colors do not appear to match.

I have to admit I find as great or greater resemblance between these two photos as I do between the one on the left and the Joseph Smith death mask. 
 

I do wonder, though, how you can see a difference in eye color when neither picture is in color. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Scott Lloyd

[PacMan]

49 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I have to admit I find as great or greater resemblance between these two photos as I do between the one in the left and the Joseph Smith death mask. 
 

I do wonder, though, how you can see a difference in eye color when neither picture is in color. 

Simply the lightness.  The "Joseph" picture does seem to have lighter eyes than Marks.  But that could be attributable to a number of things (lighting, age, paper, exposure, etc.).

[Calm]

I don’t buy it would be a family heirloom just because he was a family friend/successor.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Calm

[Scott Lloyd]

13 hours ago, Calm said:

I don’t buy it would be a family heirloom just because he was a family friend/successor.

Could be one of a number of lockets with different photos, one that happened to get handed down. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Scott Lloyd

[teddyaware]

9 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I have to admit I find as great or greater resemblance between these two photos as I do between the one in the left and the Joseph Smith death mask. 
 

I do wonder, though, how you can see a difference in eye color when neither picture is in color. 

To me it’s obvious the gentleman on the left has blue eyes. Meanwhile, over the years I’ve come to realize that blue eyed people can appear to have dark colored eyes depending on the lighting when the photo was taken.

[Stargazer]

9 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I do wonder, though, how you can see a difference in eye color when neither picture is in color. 

If someone has light blue or gray eyes, in black and white photos the iris will appear lighter than it does for someone with, say, brown eyes. You can't exactly tell the color, but blue eyes tend to be lighter in b&w than darker eye colors. Here's a comparison between Ulysses S. Grant and Herbert Hoover:

[PacMan]

Josiah Quincy also noted a similarity between Joseph Smith and Elisha R. Potter of Rhode Island.  Potter’s face is a rounder face we are accustomed to also attributing to Joseph Smith. 
 

"A fine-looking man is what the passer-by would instinctively have murmured upon meeting the remarkable individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands of his fellow-mortals. But Smith was more than this, and one could not resist the impression that capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart person. I have already mentioned the resemblance he bore to Elisha R. Potter, of Rhode Island, whom I met in Washington in 1826. The likeness was not such as would be recognized in a picture, but rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency. Of all men I have met, these two seemed best endowed with that kingly faculty which directs, as by intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are looking for guidance."

—Josiah Quincy, "Figures of the Past From the Leaves of Old Journals", 3rd ed (Boston, 1883), pp. 376-400.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elisha_Reynolds_Potter_1764-1835.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by PacMan

[PacMan]

Here's an amateurish overlay of Joseph's death mask with William Marks.  Why?  Because the features are close enough to suggest that the death mask similarity to the "Joseph" daguerreotype is not particularly dispositive.  Of course, this is a little more challenging because of the non-straight angle of Marks' photo.  But the features align quite well. 

Edited July 25, 2022 by PacMan