Blacksmith with horseshoe and anvil, daguerreotype portrait – Historic Photograph Print
(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Blacksmith with horseshoe and anvil, daguerreotype portrait. It comes from the Snapshots of the Past collection, curated over 25 years for its historical value.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Blacksmith with horseshoe and anvil, daguerreotype portrait
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A smith posed with a horseshoe in one hand and his anvil at his side, a detail that marks this daguerreotype as a working trade portrait rather than a formal studio likeness. Made in 1840, it dates from the first years of commercial photography, when the process was new enough that exposures demanded long stillness and sitters often held props for minutes at a time. Daguerreotypes were unique metal plates, so this image exists as a single object, its mirror-like silver surface shifting to positive or negative depending on the angle of light. Portraits of craftsmen like this one show how early photographers borrowed the visual language of painting to present ordinary labor with dignity.
| Created / published | 1840 |
|---|---|
| Original scan | 4,096 × 3,272 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 46_Occupational_portrait_o_1840 |
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Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.
