Three men posing on a railway handcar, daguerreotype – Vintage Wall Art
(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 Three men posing on a railway handcar, daguerreotype. 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. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Three men posing on a railway handcar, daguerreotype
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A daguerreotype from around 1850 shows three men posed on a railway handcar, a small rail vehicle worked by hand-pumped levers and used for inspecting track and carrying crews. The image is an early example of working life on the rails, captured at a time when exposures took several seconds or longer, so the men had to hold still in the bright outdoor light. Daguerreotypes were unique plates with a mirror-like silver surface, and this one rewards a close look at the figures' clothing and the iron of the handcar, which record how railroads were being built and maintained in the decades before the Civil War.
| Created / published | 1850 |
|---|---|
| Original scan | 3,313 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | 621_Occupational_portrait_o_1850 |
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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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