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The Daguerreian Society is introducing a new column for its Quarterly, titled “Lab Notes.” In the tradition of the original photographic journals of the 1850s, the publication's editorial board is soliciting images and questions from daguerreian artists related to materials and methods.
For the lead-off column, Society President Dr. Mike Robinson has submitted this half-plate daguerreotype, and will describe the technical details of its creation. He made it to explore galvanizing methods. Society members will be able to read all about it in the next Quarterly.
The remainder of the column will print questions from the field about materials and methods. Daguerreian Society members will be encouraged to submit a question or reply. Answers submitted will be reviewed and published in the next Quarterly.
To encourage participation, the names of people who submit images, questions, and answers will be dropped into a hat for one to be selected. The winning name will win this daguerreotype. You must be a member of the Daguerreian Society to participate. Send your images, questions, and answers via the Contact us page on the website.
In preparation for our Symposium & Photo Fair this fall in Hartford, Connecticut, the Daguerreian Society is now accepting high-quality consignments and donations for its annual Benefit Auction, to be held September 27 during the conference.
An exceptional daguerreotype that sold at a recent Daguerreian Society auction for $32,500 (hammer price).
We invite you to take part in this exciting event, whether you’re a member of the Society or someone who wants to participate through consigning or donating one or more great images.
We especially seek consignments that will realize a hammer price of $2,000 or more.
Your property will be featured in a small, curated auction and marketed to private collectors and institutions worldwide.
The auction will be held LIVE during the Symposium and broadcast for internet bidding globally. The Society offers an extremely competitive consignment fee.
Consignment deadline: July 15.
Questions? Contact auction@daguerreiansociety.org.
Click here to propose consignments.
For U.S. donors: The Daguerreian Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Society member Jeff Rosenheim, Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs at the Met, delivers the keynote talk on “The New Art: American Photography, 1839–1910” at the 2024 Symposium in Houston.
The Daguerreian Society’s 2024 Symposium in Houston was filled with memorable moments. One of the highlights:
Society member Jeff Rosenheim, Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, gave attendees an exclusive advance look at the fabulous collection assembled by Society member William L. Schaeffer. The collection, recently acquired by the Met, will be on exhibit in the show “The New Art: American Photography, 1839–1910” April 11–July 20, 2025.
For a limited time, members of The Daguerreian Society can view Jeff Rosenheim’s entire talk, and all of the presentations from the 2024 Symposium, free of charge. Click here to access the Video Archive: https://www.DaguerreianSociety.org/Video-Archive
And mark your calendar now for the 2025 Daguerreian Society Symposium & Photo Fair in Hartford, Connecticut, September 25–27. Click here to learn more! https://www.DaguerreianSociety.org/Symposium
Click here to join the Society: https://www.DaguerreianSociety.org/Join
Members may access the latest Quarterly from the Quarterly and Newsletter Archive page in the site's members-only section. The "compact" version is suitable for reading on screen or printing at home. The "print-quality" version is much larger and designed for high-quality printing.
Inside this issue...
Photography curator and longtime member Malcolm Daniel discusses 19th-century photo highlights at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (Photo by Terry Alphonse)
The Daguerreian Society would like to gratefully acknowledge the curators and staff who helped make our private visits to institutional collections such a resounding success at this year's Symposium in Houston.
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, our host institution: Malcolm Daniel, Christine Gervais, Raquel Carrera, Toshiaki Koseki, and Melanie Fahey.
At the Nau Civil War Collection: Sally Anne Schmidt and her team.
At the San Jacinto Museum and Battleground Alexis Stephens, Cecilia Abad, and Lisa Struthers, who joined forces with local member and sponsor Curt Robbins to create a special exhibit of early Texas-related photographs.
At the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, which contributed to the San Jacinto special exhibit: James Anderson and Lisa Meisch.
Thank you for sharing your treasure-packed collections with us! You made our annual gathering even more enriching and memorable.
MFAH Curator of Decorative Arts Christine Gervais leads a tour focused on the museum’s 19th-century American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. (Photo by Terry Alphonse)
Curator Sally Anne Schmidt, second from left, discusses the Nau Civil War Collection with past President Mike Medhurst as other tour-goers take in the treasures. (Photo by David S. Fondiller)
Alexis Stephens, Cecilia Abad, and Lisa Struthers at the San Jacinto Museum and Battleground.
James Anderson and Lisa Meisch from the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, which contributed to the San Jacinto special exhibit.
Photo experts meet in Houston as US election approaches
A photograph of Dolley Madison – perhaps the earliest camera portrait of a U.S. First Lady – was auctioned this past summer for $456,000. It is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian. The basement find of a lifetime – and, of special interest to a group about to meet in Houston.
The Dolley Madison portrait is a daguerreotype, made on a mirror-like silver surface backed with copper. Daguerreotypes are products of the earliest practical method of photography, made during a roughly 20-year period before the Civil War. No two are exactly alike. This one, dating from about 1846, was discovered while cleaning out the basement of a house whose owner had passed away.
This circa 1846 daguerreotype of First Lady Dolley Madison sold recently for $456,000 and is now owned by the National Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian.
It’s just one example of the surprising connections between early photography and political life in this election season…highlighted by the meeting in Houston (October 17-19) of the leading international group dedicated to photography before 1900, The Daguerreian Society.
The group is holding its annual conference at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The Society brings together photo collectors, historians, preservation experts, museum curators and even some modern practitioners of the original process.
The MFAH has a remarkable collection of antique photographs, including one of the most important political daguerreotypes of all, a striking, large, full-length portrait of Sam Houston – who twice served as President of the Republic of Texas, represented the Lone Star state as one of its first two US Senators, and who also was elected governor.
This large and impressive portrait of the man who served as Texas Governor, U.S. Senator, and President of the Republic of Texas is one of the highlights of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It is a daguerreotype, made by the earliest practical method of photography.
The election of 1860 saw the first widespread use of photographs on political badges, including tintypes of candidate Abraham Lincoln (Source: Library of Congress)
Frontier daguerreotype: Buying a vote? Possibly one of the earliest election-themed photographs made, these two frontier types seem to be trading a ballot for a drink at a saloon. Dating from before the Civil War, it’s owned by a member of The Daguerreian Society. (Source: Private collection via The Daguerreian Society)
"Paying the Election Bet": This photograph from 1872 shows a crowd of people in a New Hampshire town watching the loser of an election bet pull the winner around the town square. Just to rub it in, the winner is dressed in an Uncle Sam costume. (Source: Jeffrey Kraus Antique Photographics)
Although women could not vote at the time, there are photographs that show their influence…like the picture of the anti-saloon crusader Carrie Nation in a jail cell in Kansas. As Daguerreian Society member Bill Becker points out, “It’s hard to know who was more excited by that photo in its day – Carrie Nation’s fans….or her opponents.”
Carrie Nation in jail: The anti-saloon crusader Carrie Nation is shown in a Wichita, Kansas jail, reading a Bible, in 1901. While women could not vote in the US at the time, many were involved in the temperance movement that led to the prohibition of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. (Source: Wm. B. Becker Collection / PhotographyMuseum.com)
The Daguerreian Society is presenting a Photo Fair, open to the public, where visitors can view and purchase original historic photographs, many of them 150 years old.
The Photo Fair is open from 10 a.m. to 4 pm at the InterContinental Houston hotel on Main Street on Saturday, October 19, and admission is $10. “It’s a chance to buy an actual piece of history,” says Becker, “you probably won’t find Dolley Madison there, but you never know what will turn up. And you don’t have to be rich to get started. I’ve seen actual daguerreotypes from the 1850s for as little as $20."
Oct. 19 event will feature rare, original photos – some 150+ years old
HOUSTON, October 2, 2024 – For three days this month – starting Thursday, Oct. 17 – Houston will be the center of the universe for people who love the world’s first photographs. Collectors, dealers, artists, museum professionals and just plain fans of these early camera images will gather from across the globe for the annual meeting of The Daguerreian Society, the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art and preservation of early photographs.
You will be able to buy an authentic piece of history at the Daguerreian Society Photo Fair.
A highlight of the three-day gathering will be the Society’s Photo Fair, which is open to the public and taking place on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the InterContinental Houston hotel (Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor). From 10 am to 4 pm, the fair will feature rare and historically important images – most one-of-a-kind and a number related to 19th-century Texas and the Southwest. You will have a chance to not only browse through the past but also buy an authentic piece of history to hold in your hand...for as little as $10. Thousands of historical photos from as far back as 1840 through the Civil War and up to 1900 will be on display for purchase. The images will include antique daguerreotypes (the earliest practical form of photography) as well as modern daguerreotypes made by contemporary artists; tintypes on metal; ambrotypes on glass; and pioneering paper photographs. You can even glimpse the past in lifelike 3D, thanks to early stereoscopic views. Admission is $10.
Clockwise from top left: Original paper photograph (carte de visite) of General Sam Houston with a walking stick, circa 1860. Ambrotype of an African American man with a wandering eye, ca. mid-1850s. Hand-colored tintype of General George A. Custer, ca. 1875. Daguerreotype of two boys in matching outfits with a book, ca. 1845.
If that immersion in early photography isn’t enough, you’ll have another opportunity to hunt for photographic treasures later that day: The Society is holding its annual Benefit Auction starting at 8 pm CDT on Saturday, and it too is open to the public, via remote bidding. The auction will offer nearly 80 lots including over 200 fine 19th-century images. Bidding will be in person at the InterContinental Houston for Symposium registrants and online through Freeman’s | Hindman’s auction platform. This will be the first time that The Daguerreian Society, an international nonprofit founded in 1988, has held its annual Symposium in Houston. To learn more about the Photo Fair, Benefit Auction, and Symposium, visit DaguerreianSociety.org/Symposium. To download photos that will be offered at the photo fair and auction, as well as photos from past Society fairs, click here. About The Daguerreian Society The Daguerreian Society is the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography. Our international membership brings together photography collectors and dealers, museum professionals, historians, scientists, students, educators, photographers, and artists. A 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 1988, The Daguerreian Society welcomes all who share an interest in early photography. For more information, please visit DaguerreianSociety.org. Media contact: Dave Fondiller, Media@DaguerreianSociety.org.
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2024 Symposium Schedule of Events
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
10 am-4 pm – Registration packet pickup at the InterContinental hotel, Yaupon Room, 7th floor
THURSDAY, OCT. 17
9 am-4 pm – Behind-the-scenes institution tours
11 am-9 pm – Self-guided tour of "A History of Photography" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
6 pm-7 pm – Cocktail reception, MFAH, Isabel Brown Wilson Boardroom
Complimentary Hotel Shuttle: The InterContinental hotel has a complimentary shuttle on a first-come, first-served basis that serves a two-mile range, which the MFAH falls within. The shuttle hours are from 7 am-9:00 pm daily.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
9:15 am-9:45 am – Danish & coffee before speaker presentations at the MFAH. Enter the same door as for entering the Symposium (map included in registration packet). Go down to the lower level lobby, right below the Wyatt Theater, where the Symposium will be held.
9:45 am-4:00 pm – Speaker presentations at the MFAH, Wyatt Theater (no food or drinks allowed in theater)
12:00-1:30 pm – Group daguerreotype immediately following the morning session and lunch (on your own)
4:00 pm – Business meeting, MFAH, Wyatt Theater
4:30 pm – Close (or soon after)
7:00 pm-10 pm – Modern daguerreotypes show and discussion at the InterContinental hotel, Yaupon Room, 7th floor. Artists expected to attend include Jerry Spagnoli, Ken Nelson, John Hurlock, Grant Romer, HengLi Ge, Allen Phillips, Casey Waters, Francesco Fragomeni, Marc Gomme, Anton Orlov, Anja Brown, and Dr. Mike Robinson
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
9 am-4 pm – Photo Fair (opens to registrants at 9 am, 10 am for the public)
6:00-7:00 pm – Cocktail Reception, InterContinental hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
7:00 pm – Banquet, InterContinental hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
8:00 pm (approx.) – Silent & Live Auctions, InterContinental hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
The Daguerreian Society is pleased to announce its lineup of expert talks for the 2024 Symposium & Photo Fair in Houston.
On Friday, October 18, a diverse group of authorities will share insights on their areas of expertise in richly illustrated presentations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – host institution of this year’s conference.
Here’s a quick roundup of the talks and presenters. More detailed descriptions will appear in the next Daguerreian Society Quarterly, due out later this month.
“The New Art: Treasures from the William L. Schaeffer Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art” by Jeff Rosenheim Drawn from William L. Schaeffer Collection of American photographs, this presentation will trace the first 70 years of the medium’s evolution from its birth through the first decade of the 20th century. Major works by acknowledged early masters such as Josiah Johnson Hawes, John Moran, Carleton Watkins, and Alice Austen will share the stage with equally impressive photographs made by more obscure or unknown practitioners. The talk will explore the nation’s shifting sense of self, driven by the immediate success of photography as a cultural, commercial, artistic, and psychological preoccupation. Especially noteworthy are the many photographs by small-scale studios, early practitioners, and intrepid amateurs that reveal their ingenuity, aesthetic ambition, and lasting achievement.
Jeff L. Rosenheim is the Joyce F. Menschel Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a DS member.
* * *
“A Daguerreian Excursion to Mexico City (Nov-Dec 2022)” by Grant and Ariadna Romer In December of 2022, Grant and Ariadna Romer travelled to Mexico City intending to attempt recreating making of the first photographs of Mexico. They will give an account of the discovery and identification of seven whole-plate daguerreotypes in the collection of the George Eastman Museum, possibly made as early as December 1839. As a demonstration of the practical aspects of the initial process of Daguerre, they constructed a reproduction of the Giroux camera, researched the locations from which the daguerreotypes were made, and successfully captured the subjects as they appear today. In so doing they discovered much which clarifies the challenges of First Photography and the reasons for the choice of subject.
Grant B. Romer is recognized as a world authority on early photography, particularly the history, practice and conservation of the daguerreotype. A Scholar in Residence at George Eastman House, he is cofounder of the Academy of Archaic Imaging and a researcher, consultant, lecturer, and DS member.
Ariadna Romer is cofounder of the Academy of Archaic Imaging, a faculty member in the Educational Program for the Conservation of Photographic Heritage in Mexico and Uruguay, an Associated Member of the Appraisers Association of America, specialized in Rare and Fine Photographs appraisals, and a DS member.
“Paris 1863 – The 1st Photo-Illustrated Dog Show Catalog” by Brian Duggan In May 1863, two Parisian societies put on a scientific exhibition of dog breeds in the Zoological Gardens. Invitations were sent out all over France and an astonishing 850 were selected for the seven-day exhibition. Noted portrait and animal photographer Léon Crémière was contracted to produce a 60-page catalog of the top dogs. Each page was fixed with an albumen photograph of a prize winner – each being described with hand-written notes about type classification, breed, name, owner, and their award. Crémière was adept at capturing these dogs and his techniques foreshadowed those used by today’s dog show photographers. The catalog of the 1863 Parisian Dog Exhibition is arguably the first photographic inventory of 19th-century dog breeds.
Brian Patrick Duggan is a canine historian/image collector, the author of multiple books, and a DS member.
“The Tumultuous Career of George S. Cook” by Bob Zeller No 19th-century photographer had a more tumultuous or fascinating career than George S. Cook. From the early 1840s to the 1890s – from daguerreotypes to dry plate glass negatives – Cook experienced a lifetime behind the camera in Charleston, S.C., and Richmond, Va. unlike any of his fellow contemporaries. This talk will bring Cook’s career alive like never before from his photographs, which includes the world’s first combat action photo, as well as his daily account books from the Civil War, which document how Cook maintained a thriving business while under bombardment during the conflict.
Bob Zeller, a writer, historian, and DS member, is co-founder and president of The Center for Civil War Photography.
“Rinhart Collection: ‘When This You See, Remember Me’” by Kate Shannon Kate Shannon’s exploration of the Floyd and Marion Rinhart Collection at Ohio State University culminated in a public exhibition on campus last April. Titled “When This You See, Remember Me,” the exhibition featured cased daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintype portraits from the collection, providing a glimpse into American life during the 19th century and the infancy of photography. While curating the exhibition, she was interested in the mysteries surrounding the mostly anonymous subjects and the physicality of the objects, marked by deterioration, erasures, and small personal effects added to the cases. These qualities prompted her to reflect on early photography as an enigmatic, tangible medium for preserving the human experience.
Kate Shannon is an associate professor of art at The Ohio State University Mansfield and a DS member.
“Cars in Tintypes” by Robert Caldwell The first glimpse many people got of the automobile was at tintype studios. By the 1880s, tintypes were produced at resorts, carnivals, galleries, fairs, and expos. People out for a family stroll along boardwalks, seashores, and other areas would walk into a gallery. They would leave with an inexpensive keepsake of the day, one that might include an automobile. Multiple automobile technologies raced to become the dominant propulsion system -- steam, electric, and gasoline -- and tintypes were there to record it.
Robert Caldwell is a collector, historian, and DS member.
“Daguerreotypes and Portraits of ‘Kit’ Carson” by Neil David MacDonald This talk will examine known portraiture of Christopher “Kit” Carson, famed American frontiersman, scout to Col. John C. Frémont, and U.S. Army officer. Images from the Civil War period back to the Daguerreian era will be discussed. In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake destroyed what was thought to be the only known daguerreotype of him. The talk will also describe the thrilling adventures and photo-detective work involved in the recent remarkable discovery of three relational half-plate daguerreotypes.
Neil David MacDonald is a fully accredited dealer and appraiser specializing in photography, rare books, and fine art. He serves as a consultant for Canada Book Auctions in Toronto and is a DS member.
“The Future of Collecting – A Panel Discussion” with Malcolm Daniel, Mike Medhurst, Len Walle, Bob Zeller, and Ron Coddington The collecting world has changed dramatically in recent decades. Digital transformation. Social media. Artificial intelligence. Generational shifts. Record-setting prices. How have these changes impacted collecting 19th-century photography? Will these images we hold dear remain relevant in the 21st century?
Malcolm Daniel is the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and a DS member. Mike Medhurst is a collector, proprietor of Medhurst & Company, and past DS president. Len Walle is a charter DS member, past president, and longtime collector. Bob Zeller, a writer, historian, and DS member, is co-founder and president of The Center for Civil War Photography. Ron Coddington (moderator) is editor & publisher of Military Images magazine and a DS board member.
Members can take advantage of the early-bird discount on tickets, which ends September 17. To register for the Oct. 17-19 Symposium & Photo Fair, click here.
The Society regularly organizes educational programs exploring various aspects of the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography.
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