Miss Coddington, Circa 1852
Jonesboro Weekly Sun, Jonesboro, Arkansas, Thursday, May 26, 1904, Page 7, Courtesy of Genealogy Bank
The Old Daguerreotype
Its Introduction Into America Gave Impetus to a New Business
As soon as Daguerre’s became well enough known in America for practice, scientific men and, in fact, “all sorts and conditions of men,” attempted to produce the wonderful pictures. Many home-made and very primitive kinds of apparatus were employed in the experiments, including the cigar box with a spectacle lens. If the operator suceeded in producing an impression that could be seen, it was carried about and shown as a great success, says Abraham Bogardus, in “The Lost Art of the Daguerreotype,” in Century.
There were several claimants for making the first portrait by the process. A Mr. Wolcott made the claim, and Mr. Joseph Dixon, by letters and other evidence, claimed that the first picture was his, for which it was said, Mrs. Dixon sat with powdered face in full sunshine 15 minutes.
Unidentified woman, between 1847-1860
Unidentified man and boy, between 1847-1860
In March 1840, Messrs. Walcott and Johnson opened a gallery in New York and, announcing their readiness to execute portraits from life, solicited patronage. This was the first daguerreotype gallery in the world. Other places were soon opened. The daguerreotype, although considered desirable as a curiosity, was not popular, on account of the length of time required for a sitting, which varied according to the time of day and the strength of the light. It was seldom attempted on a cloudy day. The sitter must have full command of his expression and remain perfectly still for one to three minutes to be successful in getting a likeness distinct enough to be recognized.
Girl with doll and holding mother’s hand, Circa 1853
Unidentified woman and child, Dated between 1847-1860
The daguerreotype was made on a pure metallic silver surface. After being perfectly cleaned and made sensitive with a rough buff, it was coated in a darkened room with the vapor of iodine, then placed in the camera, and exposed before the sitter through the lens. It was still kept from the light, and placed over the fumes of hot mercury, where the image developed.
Unidentified child, Circa 1855
Unidentified young girl wearing plaid in 1855
Unidentified woman, Circa 1855
Unidentified woman, Circa 1855
Sara Emilie Mason in 1856
Daguerreotypes are fascinating to me; each one is unique. The images featured in this post are between 157 to 161 years old. A great collection of daguerreotypes can be viewed at this blog. If you’re interested in learning about the history of the daguerreotype, check out this video by The George Eastman House Museum:
Interesting video! Anything out of the ordinary makes them really expensive, like a rabbit, baby or doll.
Thanks – I’m glad you liked it. I have to confess I didn’t know much about daguerreotypes. Quite a process involved in making one. All three of the items you mentioned as out of the ordinary were featured in the images I posted – the doll, baby and rabbit.