Snapshots of the Past

[James J. Mapes, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left] – Historic Photo Reproduction

[James J. Mapes, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left], [between 1844 and 1856] — historic photograph
[James J. Mapes, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left], [between 1844 and 1856]. Historic photograph from the Daguerreotypes & Early Photography 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

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [James J. Mapes, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left]. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[James J. Mapes, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left]

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James Jay Mapes, a chemist and agricultural writer who lived from 1806 to 1866, sits in this half-plate daguerreotype made in Mathew Brady's studio sometime between 1844 and 1856. The sitter is identified through an engraving in *Frank Leslie's Illustrated* from June 1856, which helps place the portrait in the years when daguerreotypes were giving way to paper prints. Gold toning, a method Hippolyte Fizeau introduced in 1840, warms the plate's silver surface and strengthens the image. The number scratched on the back and the trimmed corners are worth noting, since they hint at the plate's handling over the decades.

Created / published[between 1844 and 1856]
Medium1 photograph : half plate daguerreotype, gold toned.
GenrePortrait photographs 1840-1860.Daguerreotypes 1840-1860.
NotesIdentification from an engraving in Frank Leslie's Illustrated, June 21, 1856. Scratched on back of plate: No. 1. Corners trimmed. Transfer; U.S. War College; 1920; (DLC/PP-1920:46153). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress). Produced by Mathew Brady's studio.
SubjectsMapes, James J. (James Jay),--1806-1866.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,272 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference221_James_J_Mapes_headandsh_1844

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