Early Portraits & American Identity

Earliest Surving Daguerreotype in the U.S., Joseph Saxton, 1839


In 1839, Samuel Morse (inventor of Morse Code) brought Daguerreotypes to the United States. It didn't take long for this young country (not yet 65 years old) to embrace the new, photographic process. In 1840, Walcott (inventor of the Walcott mirror camera) opened the first Daguerreotype Studio in New York City. By 1850, over 100 Studios were operating in the United States. Indeed, Daguerreotype portraits proved the latest craze.


Daguerreotype camera manufacturing, 1850s

It didn't take long until a full industry supported these studios. Factories employed young American men and women to assemble cameras and craft daguerreotype cases.


Brady’s Studio, 1840s

In 1944, A young businessman named Matthew Brady opened his first Daguerreotype Studio in New York City; later, he opened a second studio in Washington DC in order o photograph diplomats and politicians. The New York studio became a place for Daguerreotype production, as well as an exhibition hall that showcased unique American portraiture. Indeed, Brady saw himself as a not just a Daguerreotypist, but a man who "preserved the faces of history." Ultimately, Brady believed that photography contributed to and would continue to contribute to national identity; after all, the country itself was not yet 100 years old.


Fredrick, Douglas, Southworth and Hawes, 1850s

The most respected Daguerreotype studio in the United States was based in Boston and owned by Albert Southworth and Josiah Hawes. Together, these two men made thousands of portraits. They guaranteed true craftsmanship in exchange for the seemingly exorbitant price of $33.00, which was equivalent to approximately $450.00 today.

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