Portrait of a Young Man with a Cased Photograph of a Woman, Athens, Alabama, 1847

01

Artifact Overview

The daguerreotype, popular in the early 1840s-late 1850s, was the first form of photography available to the public. Sheets of silver-plated copper--polished to a mirror finish--were bathed in photosensitive vapors, and exposed in cameras. In formal studios and traveling booths, photographers created affordable portraits. For the first time, people saw their likenesses--fixed permanently in time and place.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Daguerreotype (Photograph)

Date Made

November 1847

Subject Date

November 1847

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

94.101.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Copper (Metal)
Silver (Metal)
Collodion
Japan (Enamel)
Wood (Plant material)
Papier mâché
Glass (Material)
Mat (Cased photograph)
Brass (Alloy)
Lining (Material)
Silk (Textile)

Technique

Daguerreotype (Process)
Plating (Metal coating)
Embossing (Technique)
Sixth plate

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)
Red

Dimensions

Height: 3.625 in
Width: 3.125 in
Depth: 0.625 in

Inscriptions

Handwritten in pencil inside case: by George S. Cook, Athens, Ala., November 1847