This picture is considered the very first photographic portrait, taken in 1839. The man pictured is Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia, who took this photo by setting up his camera at the back of his family’s store, removing the lens cap, and stepping into frame for a one-minute exposure. Historians joke that this picture can be considered the very first selfie ever taken.
In connection with the above post, here are two selfies, both mirror selfies, taken with the Kodak Brownie camera, introduced to the public in February 1900. The camera sold for $2, and a roll of Kodak film sold for $1. The full-length mirror photo is from 1900; the other is from 1901.
In 1900, a photographer from Illinois, named George R. Lawrence, built the world’s largest camera (at the time) to take a photograph of the Alton Limited Locomotive, owned by the Chicago & Alton Railway. The camera weighed 1,400 pounds and took between 12 and 15 men to move it.
A Kodak camera shop in Battle Creek, Michigan. Circa 1900
The Victorian era was known for some very interesting photography techniques, most notably postmortem photography. Another interesting technique, though lesser known than postmortem photography, was the practice of what many refer to as “hidden mothers”. It is often believed if a child was too young or restless to sit still for a photograph, it was common practice for the mother to sit and hold her child while covering herself with a drape so as not to be the focus of the photo. This is not true. Yes, it’s true that small children sometimes needed to be held to keep still, but the women covered by a drape was the photographer’s assistant, not the child’s mother, hence her being hidden.
“Interior with Portraits”, 1865. This painting provides a rare glimpse inside a Civil War era photography studio. Painted by American painter Thomas LeClear, this painting hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.
This 1855 cartoon depicts a family nicely posing for a daguerreotype, but the result being less than flattering due to slight movement during the process.
Why didn’t people smile in 19th century photographs? It is often believed that people couldn’t hold a smile for as long as it took to take a picture in photography’s early days. However, by the 1850s, a picture was able to be taken within ten seconds, so this belief doesn’t hold support. So, what is the real reason why people didn’t smile?
The real reason has to do with culture. Up through the early 1900s, getting a professional picture taken was expensive. Many people could only afford to have one picture taken in a lifetime. That person did not want to be captured for all eternity with a smile, which carrying over from the days of painted portraits was how fools and drunks were portrayed. People believed if they smiled for a picture, they would be preserved in time as a fool.
Abraham Lincoln was known as a humorous man by those who knew him. However, we think of him as always serious, as he never smiled for photos for this reason. Same thing with Mark Twain, who once stated, “A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.”
Another reason for people not smiling during the 19th century is that a small, tightly controlled mouth was considered beautiful. Photographers during this time would sometimes tell their subjects to say “prunes” to make them purse their lips in order to create the effect of a small mouth.
On March 23, 1840, the very first picture of the moon was taken (first image below) by scientist/photography enthusiast John Draper. It was taken from the rooftop of New York University, where he worked as a chemistry professor. The exposure time was said to be 20 minutes.
John’s son, Dr. William Draper, also shared his father’s interest in astronomy and photography, building an observatory near New York’s Hudson River, and taking a picture of the moon in 1863 (third image) through a large high-powered telescope.
An 1890s exposure captured this couple in a rare shot of 19th century laughter while attempting to pose for a photograph.
Personal cameras became available to consumers beginning in 1888, providing those who could afford one an opportunity to capture memories without having to make an expensive visit to a photography studio.
Being able to personally take multiple pictures allowed for creative opportunities, such as this photograph of friends from the 1890s.
The very first photograph of lightning, taken by studio photographer Thomas Martin Easterly in St. Louis, Missouri on June 18, 1847 at around 9:00pm. The image you see below is an 1870 copy made from the original daguerreotype, which was lost sometime after the copy was made.
Aeriel photograph of Boston, taken from a hot air balloon on October 13, 1860.
On September 4, 1888, the Kodak camera was patented by George Eastman, who had previously founded the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co., better known by the name of the camera it would sell, Kodak. The first Kodak cameras were available for nationwide purchase in mid to late 1888. The camera was sold at a cost of $25, was made of leather-covered wood and included a roll of film already installed, the roll containing 100 exposures. Once all pictures were taken, an individual, at a cost of $10, was able to mail their camera to the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co. in Rochester, New York, where the roll of film was removed and made into prints. The negatives and prints were then mailed back to that individual, along with their camera containing a fresh roll of film installed, ready to use. The company’s slogan at the time was “You press the button, we do the rest.”
Sears, Roebuck & Co, located in Chicago and founded in 1886, was the amazon.com of the late 19th century and for a good part of the 20th century. Anything you could possibly want or need could be ordered through their catalog, including vehicles and homes. The public was not allowed to tour the massive buildings which made up the company. There were, however, 50 stereoscopic view cards produced in 1906 (to be used with a stereoscope in creating a 3-D image) to give the outsider a glimpse of the different departments which made up the largest consumer goods business in the world at the time. Here are all 50 of those cards.
