Snapshots of the Past

Unidentified woman, half-length daguerreotype portrait – Vintage Wall Art

Unidentified woman, half-length daguerreotype portrait, 1840 — historic photograph
Unidentified woman, half-length daguerreotype portrait, 1840. 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

Unidentified woman, half-length daguerreotype portrait comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. It is part of the Snapshots of the Past archive, gathered over 25 years of research.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Unidentified woman, half-length daguerreotype portrait

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A half-length daguerreotype from 1840 places this sitter among the earliest people ever fixed on a photographic plate, since the process had only been made public in 1839. Her name has been lost, so the image rests entirely on what the plate itself shows: her pose, dress and expression, all recorded in the mirror-bright silver surface that gives daguerreotypes their characteristic sheen. Early portraits like this required sitters to hold still for several minutes in strong light, which accounts for the serious, composed faces common to the period. Viewed at the right angle, the plate shifts between positive and negative, a quirk of the process worth noticing.

Created / published1840
Original scan4,914 × 6,078 px · prints to 16 × 20 in at 300 dpi
Reference511_Unidentified_woman_half_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.

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