Snapshots of the Past

Two unidentified women – Historic Photograph Print

Two unidentified women, 1840 — historic photograph
Two unidentified women, 1840. Historic photograph from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Two unidentified women, a historic photograph rich in period detail. It comes from the Snapshots of the Past collection, curated over 25 years for its historical value.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Two unidentified women

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Two women sit side by side in this daguerreotype, their identities lost to time, so the picture rests almost entirely on its sitters' posture, dress and the chemistry that captured them. Made around 1840, it belongs to the first years of photography, when Louis Daguerre's process had only just been announced in 1839. Exposures then ran for minutes, so sitters had to hold still in a head clamp, which explains the stiff, composed expressions. Daguerreotypes are unique positive images on silvered copper, and their mirror-like surface makes the faces seem to shift as you tilt them in the light.

Created / published1840
Original scan3,266 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference329_Two_unidentified_women_1840

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