Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

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jiminbartow
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Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by jiminbartow » Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:38 pm

This is for anyone who has ever been interested in photography and daguerreotype photos. Daguerreotypes were developed in 1839 and were the main style of photographs throughout the 1840’s and 1850’s until the 1860’s. It is puzzling as to why the vast majority of images from this era are of less than attractive subjects so that when a rare one comes along of an attractive subject it is a pleasant surprise and demands top dollar.

Well, I found the most exquisite daguerreotype that I have ever seen that dispels the rumor that there were no beautiful people back then. From the flowing curls hairstyle, I would guess that it was taken in the 1840’s, perhaps 1845 of a young woman between 18 and 20 years of age, making her birth year around 1825. The taking of a photo was a big deal back then and the way this beautiful young woman is dressed in her finest dress makes me think that the photo was taken to commemorate her debute into society like debutants of the modern age. A moment in time captured forever, of a young woman at her most beautiful, just starting out as an adult.

Due to disease, no antibiotics, poor hygiene, lack of medical care and the dangerous times where an infection from a small cut could kill you, the average life expectancy in the 19th century for men was 36 and for women, was 38. Had she lived the average life expectancy, she would have lived until around 1863, the Civil War. Of course there are exceptions. She appears to come from affluence, so she probably had the best of everything. There is also her extraordinary beauty that almost certainly ensured she married well into a good family with wealth that helped one live a longer life, by living and eating better than average. Had she lived to the ripe old age of 75, she would have lived until 1900, which is the year my grandmother was born.

Looking at this captured moment at the beginning of life, one wonders what her name was, what she experienced during her life and how her life turned out. Looking out at us from 1845 with those eyes, it is almost hypnotic. Jim Patrick

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Wayne Sheldon
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Re: Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:00 am

Jim P, You, are a romantic!
A nice short and interesting history lesson!
Daguerreotypes are an often forgotten early form of photography.
And that is a beautiful picture.


TXGOAT2
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Re: Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by TXGOAT2 » Tue Mar 23, 2021 2:24 pm

How long did the subject have to hold a pose to take a daugerrotype?


Topic author
jiminbartow
Posts: 2202
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:55 pm
First Name: James
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Coupe
Location: Bartow, FL
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Board Member Since: 2001

Re: Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by jiminbartow » Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:25 pm

When this was taken in the 1840’s exposure was less than a minute in full sunlight. That is why she looks so relaxed and natural. When lighting was poor, it could take several minutes of sitting very still and not blinking for the picture to be taken. That is why so many subjects look so stiff, stern and uncomfortable. A smile was hard to hold for any length of time. Studios back then were constructed with roofs that opened, to take advantage of the sunlight. Jim Patrick


TXGOAT2
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Re: Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by TXGOAT2 » Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:51 pm

My mother once told us that people in very old pictures always looked uncomfortable because they had to sit very still for a long time to take the picture, and they all needed to go to the bathroom before it was done..... I suspect that wearing their starched "Sunday Best" was often a factor, too. Website: www.shorpy.com is a treasury of old photos of every sort.


Topic author
jiminbartow
Posts: 2202
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:55 pm
First Name: James
Last Name: Patrick
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Coupe
Location: Bartow, FL
MTFCA Number: 50126
Board Member Since: 2001

Re: Photo aficionados: Daguerreotypes

Post by jiminbartow » Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:46 pm

Yes. To remedy this discomfort there was an adjustable neck support with a long shaft that went to the floor that helped the subject endure the long time one had to stay still. It was positioned directly behind the subject and, if positioned properly, was not visible in the photo. That is one of the reasons the subjects back then, look so upright and stiff. Several months ago, someone posted a Harold Lloyd movie short in which he was having his photograph taken. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1-kR7o34cA). In it, you can see this neck support being used by the photographer in the studio. If you click onto the video, it may start in the middle, so you may have to back the video up to the beginning, where his visit to the photography studio is. Notice also the ropes on the wall that enable the tent like roof to be opened to allow in the full sun. The waterproof fabric that covers the roof appears to be opaque so that it lets in the sunlight even if the roof is closed. Jim Patrick

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