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[United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street facade, possibly taken from the upper floor of the General Post Office] – Vintage Wall Art

[United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street facade, possibly taken from the upper floor of the General Post Office], [ca. 1846] — historic photograph
[United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street facade, possibly taken from the upper floor of the General Post Office], [ca. 1846]. Historic photograph from the Washington Landmarks collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

[United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street facade, possibly taken from the upper floor of the General Post Office] comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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[United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street facade, possibly taken from the upper floor of the General Post Office]

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A daguerreotype of the United States Patent Office's F Street facade, the building that housed the nation's patent models and records, possibly taken from an upper floor of the nearby General Post Office. Robert Mills designed the Greek Revival structure, and it was among the city's most prominent government buildings when this plate was made around 1846. Daguerreotypes of this period needed long exposures, so the street below appears quiet and still, and the image gives a rare early view of a building that later became part of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art.

Created / published[ca. 1846]
Medium1 photograph : half plate daguerreotype.
GenreArchitectural photographs 1840-1850.Daguerreotypes 1840-1850.
NotesPurchase; 1972; (DLC/PP-1972:R01.1). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress).
SubjectsUnited States.--Patent Office--Buildings--Washington (D.C.)--1840-1850.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,446 × 1,155 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-217580

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