Snapshots of the Past

North side of Chestnut – Antique Photo Print

North side of Chestnut, 1842 — historic photograph
North side of Chestnut, 1842. 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

This historic photograph of North side of Chestnut brings a moment of history to your wall. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

North side of Chestnut

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Chestnut Street in Philadelphia is the subject of this 1842 daguerreotype, which shows the street's north side only a few years after the process was announced. Exposures in that period took minutes in bright daylight, so moving carriages and most pedestrians failed to register, leaving storefronts and facades sharply detailed. Views like this one are among the earliest surviving American street scenes and offer a rare look at a busy commercial avenue as the first generation of photographers saw it. Notice the crisp architectural lines and the mirror-like silver surface, which gives the image its soft, reflective quality.

Created / published1842
Original scan3,624 × 4,536 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi
Reference114_North_side_of_Chestnut_1842

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