The article discusses a daguerreotype portrait taken by Samuel F.B. Morse, historically famed for inventing the telegraph. It highlights Morse's role as an early adopter of the daguerreotype process, which was introduced in the 1830s by Louis Daguerre. Despite the challenges posed by the technique, including long exposure times and a lack of advanced equipment, daguerreotypes gained popularity in the 1840s, with studios appearing throughout New York City. The Morse portrait is expected to fetch up to $60,000 at auction, illustrating the lasting value placed on early photographs.
The picture was taken by pulling a cap off the lens and putting it back on later. Still, daguerreotypes caught on in the United States in the 1840s, and portrait studios seemed to be everywhere.
Long before there were camera shops and film, there were daguerreotypes, images made using a photographic process invented in the 1830s by the French artist Louis Daguerre.
Morse was an early adopter despite the limitations of daguerreotyping. A single image took minutes to expose. Fraction-of-a-second shutter speeds were unheard-of.
The man in the dim, muddy image isn't the reason the little portrait could sell for as much as $60,000. It's the man who took it – Samuel F.B. Morse.
Collection
[
|
...
]