Snapshots of the Past

Portrait of a man with spectacles, early photograph – Historic Photo Reproduction

Portrait of a man with spectacles, early photograph, 1844 — historic photograph
Portrait of a man with spectacles, early photograph, 1844. 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 Portrait of a man with spectacles, early photograph brings a moment of history to your wall. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. 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 has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Portrait of a man with spectacles, early photograph

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A sitter in wire-rimmed spectacles, caught in a daguerreotype dated 1844, places this plate in one of photography's first decades, when the process was barely five years old. Daguerreotypes were made on silvered copper plates, each one a unique image rather than a print, and the mirror-like surface means the picture seems to shift as you tilt it toward the light. Exposures ran from several seconds to minutes, so sitters were asked to hold still with the help of head clamps and steady posture. Because the record does not name the man, the picture is best read as a window onto the everyday look of mid-century portraiture and the early craft of capturing a face.

Created / published1844
Original scan1,097 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
Reference305_Samuel_G_Goodrich_heada_1844

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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.

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