Mirror Images: Daguerreotypes at the Library of Congress

Introduction

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of a woman working at a sewing machine] sixth plate daguerreotype, ca. 1853.

This presentation illustrates the major subjects represented in the Daguerreotypes Collection. Each of the categories below feature selected highlights from the collection.

• Portrait Gallery
• American Colonization Society
• Occupational Daguerreotypes
• Architectural Scenes and Outdoor Views

Mirror Images: Daguerreotypes at the Library of Congress was authored by Carol Johnson, Assistant Curator for Photography in the Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Portrait Gallery

Photographer unidentified. [John Sherman, head-and-shoulders portrait, full face] half plate daguerreotype, between 1840 and 1860.

Americans were fascinated with the invention of the daguerreotype, which allowed the middle-class to obtain affordable portraits. Mathew Brady and other notable photographers exhibited portraits of "Illustrious Americans" on their gallery walls and encouraged the public to admire these images much as one would view an exhibit of paintings in an art gallery. Once inside the studio, visitors were thrilled that they, too, could be pictured in a shiny, silvery likeness.

Nicholas H. Shepherd. [Abraham Lincoln, three-quarters length portrait, seated, facing front] quarter plate daguerreotype, 1846 or 1847.

Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States. On April 12, 1861, one month into his first term, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina, marking the start of the Civil War. The war continued until April 9, 1865, when Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse. Less than one week later, Lincoln was fatally shot by the Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. The Library's daguerreotype of Lincoln is the earliest known portrait of the President. It was most likely taken in Springfield, Illinois, in 1846 or 1847 shortly after Lincoln was first elected to the House of Representatives.

Mathew Brady's studio. [Horace Greeley, full-length portrait, three-quarters to the right, seated in chair, wearing tall hat, folded newspaper in lap, carpet on floor] half plate daguerreotype, between 1844 and 1860.

The eccentric New York editor Horace Greeley began publishing the influential New York Tribune in 1841. The Tribune strove to improve the nation morally and was particularly lauded for its coverage of political events. Greeley was known for his directive, "Go West, young man," and personified the ebullient spirit of American Republican politics in the 1850s. In his hobnail boots, long coat, and stove-pipe hat, Greeley was a fixture of the national scene.

Mathew Brady's studio. [G.P.A. Healy, half-length portrait, facing front] half plate daguerreotype, between 1844 and 1860.

George Peter Alexander Healy was one of the most successful portrait painters of the mid-nineteenth century. At the age of twenty-one, Healy went to France to study painting under Lucien-Alphonse Gros. Shortly thereafter he was commissioned to paint portraits of French and English royalty. Upon his return to the United States in the 1840s, Healy painted many prominent statesmen, as well as business leaders and members of society.

Mathew Brady's studio. [Stephen Arnold Douglas, head-and-shoulders portrait, slightly to left] whole plate daguerreotype, between 1844 and 1860.

Stephen Douglas, a United States Senator from Illinois, played a major role in U.S. politics prior to the Civil War. Douglas was elected to the Senate in 1847. He supported the Mexican War and helped guide the Compromise of 1850 through Congress. He ran against Lincoln for president in 1860. After his defeat, Douglas supported Lincoln's views.

Attributed to S.N. Carvalho. [Solomon Nunes Carvalho, half-length portrait, facing slightly left, seated with arm resting on table with tablecloth] half plate daguerreotype, ca. 1850.

Solomon Nunes Carvalho was born in Charleston, South Carolina, into a Jewish family of Spanish-Portuguese descent. Carvalho worked as both a painter and a photographer. During the winter of 1853-54, Carvalho accompanied the explorer John C. Frémont through the territories of Kansas, Colorado, and Utah searching for a railroad route to the Pacific. The daguerreotypes that Carvalho took on this expedition no longer exist. It is believed that the copy daguerreotype of an Indian village that came to the Library with the Brady collection was made from one of Carvalho's daguerreotypes.

Photographer unidentified. [Lucy Stone, half-length portrait of a woman, seated, facing front] ninth plate daguerreotype, between 1840 and 1860.

Lucy Stone was an early advocate of women's suffrage. In 1850 she organized the first national convention to address women's rights. Upon her marriage to Henry Blackwell, Stone retained her maiden name. Blackwell and Stone edited the Woman's Journal, a successful weekly publication of the suffrage movement. Stone remained an active force in the struggle for women's rights until her death in 1893.

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American Colonization Society

Augustus Washington. [Unidentified woman, probably a member of the Urias McGill family, three-quarters length portrait, facing front, holding daguerreotype case] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1854 and 1860.

The American Colonization Society, a private philanthropic organization, was organized in Washington, D.C., in 1817 for the purpose of relocating freeborn and emancipated blacks to Africa. The Society's supporters espoused a wide range of viewpoints on slavery and the treatment of blacks, ranging from advocacy of the abolition of slavery to the removal of the Negro race from the United States.

Rufus Anson.[Joseph Jenkins Roberts, three-quarters length portrait, full face] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1851 and 1860.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was the first president of Liberia. Roberts was born in Virginia, and emigrated to Liberia when he was twenty years old. He served as lieutenant-governor of Liberia for three years. When Thomas H. Buchanan, the white governor appointed by the American Colonization Society, died, Roberts assumed his position. Roberts served as Liberia's president from 1848-1856 and from 1872-1876.

Rufus Anson. [Jane Roberts, three-quarters length portrait of a woman, full face] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1851 and 1860.

Jane Waring Roberts emigrated to Liberia from Virginia in 1824. In 1836, she married Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who became Liberia's first president. In 1887 she started a project to build a hospital at Monrovia, Liberia's capital.

Photographer unidentified. [Edward J. Roye, three-quarters length portrait, standing, with hand raised] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1856 and 1860.

Edward Roye was born into a prosperous family in Newark, Ohio. He emigrated to Liberia in 1846 and set up business as a merchant. In 1849, Roye became active in Liberian politics, rising to the position of President of the Republic in 1870. Roye took office in the midst of a fiscal crisis and was ultimately ousted by his opponents in 1871.

Augustus Washington. [Urias A. McGill, half-length portrait, facing front] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1854 and 1860.

Urias was one of four McGill brothers who ran a very successful business in Liberia. The brothers owned several trans-Atlantic vessels for exporting Liberian products such as palm oil and camwood. The firm also operated a store in Monrovia. McGill's portrait was taken by the African-American photographer Augustus Washington, who emigrated to Liberia in 1853.

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Occupational Daguerreotypes

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of an unidentified stonecutter, three-quarters length, three-quarters to the right, holding mallet and chisel against block of stone] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1850 and 1860.

Occasionally daguerreotypes document American laborers in the mid-nineteenth century. The subjects of occupational daguerreotypes pose with the tools of their trade or goods that they have made. Most occupational daguerreotypes depict tradesmen, such as cobblers, carpenters, and blacksmiths.

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of a woman working at a sewing machine] sixth plate daguerreotype, ca. 1853.

The unidentified subject of this daguerreotype sits behind an industrial model Grover and Baker sewing machine. Whether originally produced as a promotion for the machine's manufacturer, an illustration of the clothing industry at the time, or a portrait of a proud seamstress displaying the tools of her trade, this daguerreotype is one of the few surviving visual documents of working women in the United States before the Civil War.

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of a watchmaker, three-quarters length, seated at table with watches] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1840 and 1860.

The watchmaker in this daguerreotype looks proudly toward the camera, almost as if he had just glanced up from his work to find the daguerreotypist ready to take his portrait. Most likely, this daguerreotype was made in the photographer's studio, with the sitter bringing his delicate tools and watches along with him for the portrait.

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of three railroad workers standing on hand propelled railroad cart] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1850 and 1860.

The railroad revolutionized transportation and enabled products to be delivered to new markets. This daguerreotype is accompanied by a poignant note: "Jacob Lewis Davis, my dear father. Taken when he worked on the railroad. He is the tall man with a beard standing on the left end."

Photographer unidentified. [Occupational portrait of a latch maker] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1850 and 1860.

Nineteenth-century paintings, prints, and illustrations of the American working class often presented idealized and heroicized images. In contrast, this daguerreotype of a locksmith with his scrawny arms, grave demeanor, and stained apron provides a different perspective on the nineteenth-century American tradesman.

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Architectural Scenes and Outdoor Views

John Plumbe. [President's house (i.e. White House), Washington, D.C., showing south side, probably taken in winter] half plate daguerreotype, ca. 1846.

The daguerreotype of the south side of the White House was probably taken in the winter of 1846 during President James K. Polk's administration. A small patch of snow is visible in the foreground of the image. This work was one of five daguerreotypes of Washington buildings, including the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Patent Office, acquired by the Library in 1972.

John Plumbe. [United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation] half plate daguerreotype, ca. 1846.

One of the earliest surviving photographs of the Capitol, John Plumbe, Jr.'s daguerreotype shows the building with its old copper-sheathed wooden dome. The photographer had hoped to sell "plumbeotypes," hand-produced lithographic images based on daguerreotypes, of several Washington buildings, as well as likenesses of prominent individuals. His endeavor was not successful, and very few plumbeotypes have survived.

Platt D. Babbitt. [Joseph Avery stranded on rocks in the Niagara River] quarter plate daguerreotype, 1853.

In 1853, Platt Babbitt opened a daguerreotype studio at Niagara Falls. He was probably the first daguerreotypist to specialize in tourist photography by taking images of people watching the Falls. This view is an early news photograph. Two men boating in the Niagara River were overwhelmed by the river's strong current, lost control of their boat, and crashed into a rock. The current carried one man immediately over the Falls to his death. The daguerreotype shows the second man, stranded on a log which had jammed between two rocks. He weathered the current for eighteen exhausting hours before succumbing to the river.

Photographer unidentified, possibly L.J. Phillips. [View of a horse and covered cart in front of white frame building with signs for County House, J. Griggs and L.J. Phillips, Daguerrian Rooms, Thompson, Connecticut] sixth plate daguerreotype, between 1850 and 1860.

Most likely this image was taken by the daguerreotypist, L.J. Phillips. Phillips may have worked as an itinerant daguerreotypist. His sign, which is made of cloth, can be seen under the upper right window of the County House. It was not unusual for photographers to set up a temporary studio in a town that did not have a resident daguerreotypist.

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