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Daguerreotype of a young woman, with her head resting on her hand.

In Love with a Daguerreotype

A nineteenth-century twist on love at first sight.
Daguerrotype of Robert Cornelius.

Portraits of Brotherly Love

Philadelphia portrait studios in the Age of the Daguerreotype (1840-1849).
Eight daguerreotype portraits.

Samuel Morse and the Quest for the Daguerreotype Portrait

When a remarkable new invention by Louis Daguerre was announced by the French, it was American inventor Samuel Morse who sensed its commercial potential.
The Bullion Mine, Virginia City, Nevada, in a village at the foot of a mountain.

Gold Diggers on Camera

Creating the myth of the gold rush with the help of daguerreotypists.
A decayed daguerreotype portrait of Mary Woodburn Greeley, an older woman wearing spectacles and a headscarf.

Decayed Daguerreotypes

Images of decaying daguerreotypes whose photographic fixing was subject to decay like the people they captured.
Tamara Lanier

Harvard Relinquishes Photographs of Enslaved People in Historic Settlement

Tamara Lanier, who sued the school over daguerreotypes of her enslaved ancestors held in its museum, called the outcome “a turning point in American history.”
Artwork by Alanna Fields of an enslaved individual.

The Dark Underside of Representations of Slavery

Will the Black body ever have the opportunity to rest in peace?
Female photographer standing behind camera, next to man in uniform holding suitcase.

Midwestern Exposure

Zooming in on the places where early women photographers could build a career.
Cover of amateur photography handbook

Say Cheese! How Bad Photography Has Changed Our Definition of Good Pictures

The changes in popular photography.
Engraving of Harriet Beecher Stowe in profile.

How the Camera Introduced Americans to Their Heroines

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights figures including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lucretia Mott and Margaret Fuller.
Landscape shot of Los Angeles, with Hollywoodland sign in the background.

True West: Searching for the Familiar in Early Photos of L.A. and San Francisco

A look at early photography reveals the nuances of California's early development.
A colorized photo of a woman in the 1850s.

The Past in Color

A short history of hand-colored photos during the Civil War era.
“Linen” postcard, depicting cars parked along a city street, in front of "Chop Suey" building, where people are standing outside.

Street Views

Photographs of empty city streets went out of fashion, but lately are coming back again. What's lost in these images of vacant streets?
Painting of white men taking enslaved Africans off boat on a beach.

Who Owns the Evidence of Slavery’s Violence?

A lawsuit against Harvard University demands the return of an ancestor’s stolen image.

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