Early Development of Daguerreotypes in the United States

The Daguerreotype, introduced in 1839, revolutionized how people captured themselves, others, and the environment around them and is one of the prequels to what we know as photography. As the first widely accessible photographic process, the daguerreotype bridged the gap between art and science, offering a level of detail and realism unmatched by traditional portrait painting. In the United States, the Daguerreotype gained immense popularity and usage with the help of scientist putting their ideas out there, practicality, institutional aid, and much more. The Daguerreotype didn’t just change how we go about our day-to-day lives or how the people went about their daily lives back then. It changed our whole perception of the arts.

In the spring of 1839, Samuel Morse met Louis Daguerre in Paris at a convention. The two talked, and Morse saw the potential of the Daguerreotype, a groundbreaking photographic process. Morse saw how big and revolutionary the invention could be and sent a letter to his brother. This was the initial push that steamrolled the invention to the US. The letter was a brief description of the product and its function. According to The Daguerreotype in America by Beaumont Newhall, Morse’s brother, Sidney Morse, sent the letter to the New York Observer, a religious newspaper. Morse wrote:

They are produced on a metallic surface, the principal pieces about 7 inches by 5, and resemble aquatint engravings. [..] No paintings or engraving ever approached it. For example, In a view up the street, the distant sign would be perceived, and the eye could discern that there were lines of letters upon it, but so minute as not to be read with the naked eye. By the assistance of a powerful lens that magnifies fifty times, every letter was clearly and distinctly legible [1].

 The Daguerreotype process arrived in America officially on September 20, 1839, when Morse received a copy of Daguerre’s instruction manual aboard the ship British Queen. However, other practitioners began experimenting independently around the same time. D.W. Seager claimed to have produced the first American daguerreotype on September 16, 1839, capturing a photograph of St. Paul’s Church and the Astor House in New York City. According to anecdotal evidence, Seager may have received an early copy of Daguerre’s manual from a friend in England. John W. Draper, a scientist and a close collaborator of Morse, was busy experimenting with larger lenses to cut down on exposure times. He is recognized for creating one of the earliest portrait daguerreotypes, a likeness of his sister, and sent it to Sir John Herschel in 1840. This image, often called the "first sun portrait," represented a crucial advancement in making photography practical. One of the earliest known American daguerreotypes is Joseph Saxton’s photograph of Central High School in Philadelphia, captured on October 16, 1839. At the time, Saxton was employed at the United States Mint and created a makeshift camera using a magnifying glass and a cigar box. Although the image lacked detail or tonal depth, it represented a pivotal moment as one of the first documented daguerreotypes in the US. Beaumont Newhall noted that “Americans had much to learn.” Still, these initial attempts sparked a wave of experimentation and interest in the new photographic medium. 

By the early 1840s, the daguerreotype had shifted from a science experiment to a booming commercial industry. New photographic studios rose in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. This became a new offering to the lower classes. Many American Daguerreotypists contributed to the medium’s technological advancements. For instance, Robert Cornelius refined the daguerreotype process in Philadelphia by developing shorter exposure times. His self-portrait, taken in 1839, is considered one of the first known photographic self-portraits in history. These innovations helped establish the daguerreotype as a practical and popular medium across the United States. This section explains the timeline of the Daguerreotype from the initial struggles of leading scientists and how they finally commercialized the invention until studios contributed to the boom of the accessibility of the Daguerreotype process and way.

The American Daguerreotype created a new cultural value of identity and innovation among the people. Morse and Daguerre were both spirited inventors and they both enriched each other, not just through their rivalry but also through their ideas. The Telegraph created a new form of communication, and the Daguerreotype created a new visual art form that had never been created before. The US government and its system fueled a new “culture” for the people through the usage of the post office system. The US post office at the time lowered and changed its prices to compete with the expensive telegraph, and the daguerreotype began to be commercialized. Cheap postage also framed new patterns and expectations of how cameras and photography might be used, specifically the expectation that personal portraits could move easily across vast distances. Daguerre himself had imagined that the camera would be suitable for depicting still-life scenes and landscapes. Morse, who had worked as a portrait painter, had an interest in the capacity of the camera to capture human facial expressions, but this was a special perspective in 1839. Although Daguerreotypes were hard to produce with long exposure times and uncomfortable studio accommodations, the results were sentimental. By 1850, taking a picture of someone’s face was unquestionably the predominant application of Daguerre’s invention and the primary social use associated with photographic technology. An overwhelming majority of daguerreotypes taken nationwide in the midcentury were posed portraits of individuals (less commonly) families. In “The Traveling Daguerreotype: Early Photography and the U.S. Postal System,” Henkin writes:

 Approximately two thousand daguerreotypists were practicing in the United States within a decade of the introduction of the art. A hundred different studios operated in New York City alone. As of 1853, New York held more daguerreotype studios than all of England. American daguerreotypists also produced prodigious volumes to images—three million a year, according to an 1853 estimate [2]. 

There is no one reason or exact reason on why daguerreotypes became so popular in the US but one  of which  was so a “memorial”  portrait; which froze the image of one’s loved relative throughout time. A message can be sent, received, and forgotten, but not a picture that is immortal. A women was quoted saying “Upon receiving his son’s “likeness” in the mail, Iowan J. H. Williams went so far as to pronounce it “as good as a short visit”. Another description of a letter, “Sabrina Swain of Ohio, while writing to her husband that she regretted having consented to his trek to California, took some comfort upon receiving his photograph. “I think I never saw anything, but life look more natural”. The daguerreotypes were also considered more special by the people due to that fact. The Daguerreotype contributed to a new sense of “love” among family and friends, with realistic depictions and a sense of authenticity.

The introduction of Daguerreotypes also allowed a shift to a new form of photography as well as going into more of a realistic point of view. This was a new way of looking at art vs other art forms in the past, such as the fantasized form of classical art. Unlike painted portraits, which often relied on artistic interpretation and idealization, daguerreotypes offered a “real” sharp, detailed reflection of day-to-day reality. As Donald D. Keyes notes, “sharpness of detail and verisimilitude carried the day and vested the Daguerreian image with a mantle of magic and infallible truth” [3]. This emphasis on precision resonated deeply with 19th-century Americans, aligning with a growing cultural preference for authenticity and accuracy. The Daguerreotype captured the minute details of the person and redefined how the person perceived visual representation. The American public’s enthusiasm for daguerreotypes stemmed from their capacity to "freeze" a moment in time, creating a lifelike and permanent visual record of people, places, and objects. Daguerreotypes quickly became revered for their authenticity. Keyes points out that Americans viewed these images as more than mere photographs; they were considered objective truths, unaffected by an artist’s personal interpretation. This perception of the daguerreotype as an “infallible truth” enhanced its value as both a cherished keepsake and a significant cultural artifact. During a time marked by scientific and industrial progress, the daguerreotype stood as a remarkable technological feat that bridged the gap between science and art, capturing the spirit of the age. Before the invention of the daguerreotype, oil portraits and painted miniatures—which were frequently idealized to flatter the sitter—dominated portraiture. The daguerreotype challenged the dominance of traditional portraiture by offering an unvarnished and direct likeness, upending this tradition. This change signaled a shift in culture that prioritized realism over creative interpretation. According to Keyes, the realism of the daguerreotype completely changed the field of art, even influencing conventional painters. Many artists started using methods influenced by the daguerreotype, bringing its accuracy and focus to their works. This interaction between painting and photography represented a larger cultural shift that praised objectivity and accuracy in visual art.

The daguerreotype laid a foundation for many of the conventions and practices of modern photography. It emphasis on realism and unembellished representation persists in portrait photography today, particularly in the push for authenticity in an era dominated by image manipulation. The tactile, singular nature of the daguerreotype also contrasts with the infinite productivity of digital photography, prompting renewed interest in photography as a physical and personal medium. The daguerreotype's emphasis on uniqueness and permanence contrasts digital photography today. In a world where millions of images are created and shared daily, the daguerreotype reminds us the importance of slowing down and appreciating an image. Its focus on detail and craftsmanship offers inspiration for contemporary photographers seeking to create meaningful and lasting work.

Endnotes

1. Beaumont Newhall, The Daguerreotype in America, 3rd ed. (Dover Publications, 1976).

2.  David M. Henkin, “The Traveling Daguerreotype: Early Photography and the U.S. Postal System,” in Photography and Other Media in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Nicoletta Leonardi and Simone Natale (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018), 47–56.

3. Donald D. Keyes, “The Daguerreotype’s Popularity in America,” Art Journal 36, no. 2 (Winter 1976–1977).