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[United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation] – Historic Reproduction

[United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation], [ca. 1846] — historic photograph
[United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation], [ca. 1846]. Historic photograph from the U.S. Capitol 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 Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation] comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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[United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., east front elevation]

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The east front was the side of the Capitol that faced the city, and this half plate daguerreotype, made around 1846, records it before the building's later expansion reshaped the view. Its silvery, mirror-like surface is typical of the process, which captured fine architectural detail but required long exposures, so the lawn and street appear nearly empty of people. The building had been rebuilt after the British burned it in 1814, and by the 1840s it was still a work in progress, with its wings and dome soon to be enlarged. The picture therefore documents a Capitol in transition during the early years of photography.

Created / published[ca. 1846]
Medium1 photograph : half plate daguerreotype.
GenreArchitectural photographs 1840-1850.Daguerreotypes 1840-1850.
NotesPurchase; 1972; (DLC/PP-1972:R01.4). Forms part of: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress). Published in: Viewpoints; a selection from the pictorial collections of the Library of Congress .... Washington : Library of Congress ..., 1975, no. 142. Exhibit loan 4105-L.
SubjectsUnited States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)--1840-1850.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan5,951 × 4,817 px · prints to 20 × 16 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-217579

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