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A Mysterious Image: Brigham Young With An Unknown Wife, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies Quarterly

Of the hundreds of images of Brigham Young, until recently only two were known that show Brigham posing with one of his wives. While rumors of a third such images have existed for some time, no one could find a copy of it until this year. What we found was a photograph of the original daguerreotype (fig. 1); the original itself, printed on a small coper plate, is still missing. This rumored image was mysterious not only because it had disappeared but also because the wife's face on the daguerreotype had been completely obliterated. Unanswered questions regarding its damage make …