What is a Daguerreotype?
A Brief History of Photography
Early civilizations discovered that light waves travel in straight lines. Gordon Baldwin, Assistant Curator of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum writes:
As early as the ninth century it was observed that when light rays from a bright object enter a small hole in a darkened room, they produce an inverted image of that object on the opposite wall. By the seventeenth century this observation had led to the creation of a portable camera obscura as an aid for drawing, a use [that was] first suggested a century earlier.
“Camera Obscura” means dark chamber in Latin and with the invention of a portable one, the draftsman’s task was greatly simplified. With this tool a three dimensional object could easily be rendered in two dimensions. This became, in a sense, the first real camera. As light waves passed through the box, one end was fitted with a lens that allowed the operator to focus the image against the opposite side. The image projected was a reversed image. A mirror inside the box aimed the light waves up to a clear piece of glass where the artist could trace or "take" the image. The mirror also served to correct the reversed image inside the box. (see Fig. 4)
As early as the ninth century it was observed that when light rays from a bright object enter a small hole in a darkened room, they produce an inverted image of that object on the opposite wall. By the seventeenth century this observation had led to the creation of a portable camera obscura as an aid for drawing, a use [that was] first suggested a century earlier.
“Camera Obscura” means dark chamber in Latin and with the invention of a portable one, the draftsman’s task was greatly simplified. With this tool a three dimensional object could easily be rendered in two dimensions. This became, in a sense, the first real camera. As light waves passed through the box, one end was fitted with a lens that allowed the operator to focus the image against the opposite side. The image projected was a reversed image. A mirror inside the box aimed the light waves up to a clear piece of glass where the artist could trace or "take" the image. The mirror also served to correct the reversed image inside the box. (see Fig. 4)
A s mankind utilized this new knowledge, he developed better ways of "recording" the world around him. With the discovery of light sensitive chemicals, actual light-wave imprints or photographs--meaning literally: "light written"--could be produced. No longer did man have to "take" a likeness by hand but he could use the light waves to do it for him. The earliest type of photographs were extremely tedious to produce; however, in 1839 Louis-Jacques- Mandé Daguerre (see Fig. 5) announced the invention of a new photographic process. It was called the daguerreotype and it quickly became popular. Baldwin describes this process:
A daguerreotype is a highly detailed image formed on a sheet of copper very thinly plated with silver. Extremely thorough, even exhaustive cleaning and polishing of the silver was the first essential step in the making of a daguerreotype. Next came the suspension of the shiny plate over iodine in a closed container. Rising vapors from the iodine united with the silver to produce a light-sensitive surface coating of silver iodine. The sensitized plate, inside a light proof holder, was then transferred to a camera and, in the earliest days, exposed to light for as long as twenty-five minutes. The plate was developed by placing it in a container suspended over a heated dish of mercury, the vapor from which reacted with the exposed silver iodide to produce an image in an amalgam of silver mercury. The image was made permanent, i.e., fixed, by immersion in a solution of salt or hyposulfite of soda and toned with gold chloride to improve its color, definition, and permanence. The image thus produced had startling clarity.
This “startling clarity” and its highly polished state gave the image “as exact a view as that formed by a mirror.” Nelson Wadsworth wrote of the daguerreotype: “The definition has not been surpassed, not even by modern films. It was called ‘Rembrandt perfected’, and gave limitless opportunities to portrait painters and folk artists, in particular.”
A daguerreotype is a highly detailed image formed on a sheet of copper very thinly plated with silver. Extremely thorough, even exhaustive cleaning and polishing of the silver was the first essential step in the making of a daguerreotype. Next came the suspension of the shiny plate over iodine in a closed container. Rising vapors from the iodine united with the silver to produce a light-sensitive surface coating of silver iodine. The sensitized plate, inside a light proof holder, was then transferred to a camera and, in the earliest days, exposed to light for as long as twenty-five minutes. The plate was developed by placing it in a container suspended over a heated dish of mercury, the vapor from which reacted with the exposed silver iodide to produce an image in an amalgam of silver mercury. The image was made permanent, i.e., fixed, by immersion in a solution of salt or hyposulfite of soda and toned with gold chloride to improve its color, definition, and permanence. The image thus produced had startling clarity.
This “startling clarity” and its highly polished state gave the image “as exact a view as that formed by a mirror.” Nelson Wadsworth wrote of the daguerreotype: “The definition has not been surpassed, not even by modern films. It was called ‘Rembrandt perfected’, and gave limitless opportunities to portrait painters and folk artists, in particular.”
Improvements in daguerreotypy came quickly. Faster films were created, making it easier for subjects to sit motionless for less time. The earliest daguerreotypes were a reversed image of the subject, but photographers soon learned that they could correct the image by holding a mirror up to the lens, thereby sending a corrected image onto the film in the back of the camera box. (As a humorous side note, some “true” image daguerreotypes have actually been “re-reversed” by uneducated archivists thinking they were correcting the image.)
The excitement generated in 1839 by this new technology quickly spread from Europe to America and daguerreotypes were introduced in the United States that same year. Almost immediately photographic studios and schools were established in large American communities like New York City.
By 1843, men trained in the art of daguerreotypy moved from the large cities into the frontier settlements of the American midwest. One such entrepreneur came to Nauvoo in 1843. His name was Mr. Miller and he took a “miniature” of Wilford Woodruff, but this is the only known reference of this “traveling photographer”. A short time later, another photographer would come to Nauvoo, set up a studio, and begin doing business. His name was Lucien Foster.
By 1843, men trained in the art of daguerreotypy moved from the large cities into the frontier settlements of the American midwest. One such entrepreneur came to Nauvoo in 1843. His name was Mr. Miller and he took a “miniature” of Wilford Woodruff, but this is the only known reference of this “traveling photographer”. A short time later, another photographer would come to Nauvoo, set up a studio, and begin doing business. His name was Lucien Foster.
Daguerreotypy & Lucien Foster in Nauvoo
On the 27th of April, 1844, three months before the Prophet’s martyrdom, a daguerreotypist named Lucien R. Foster came to Nauvoo. He had been President of the New York Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1841 until his arrival in Nauvoo. While in New York, Brother Foster learned the art of daguerreotypy, probably from Samuel F. B. Morse, who was teaching the trade to interested people at the University of the City of New York. When Lucien Foster came to Nauvoo, he brought the necessary equipment with him to set up a daguerreotype gallery. He hoped to make use of the extreme population boom in that area, while at the same time live among the Saints. Two days after his arrival, he went to meet the Prophet Joseph and presented him with a gift. The Prophet records:
Monday, 29. - At home; received a visit from L. R. Foster of New York, who gave me a gold pencil case, sent me by Brother Theodore Curtis, who is now in New York; and the first words I wrote with it were, "God bless the man!"
What did these two men discuss during their interview? There can be no doubt that Joseph Smith knew Foster well. His long sojourn as Branch President of New York and his future plans to capture the life of the Mormons in photo must have been part of their conversation. Perhaps the Prophet saw the camera as a new means of spreading the Gospel. Maybe they discussed the possibly of changing the nation’s misconceptions about the Mormon community through this new medium. Who is to say? Perhaps Mormon photo historian Nelson Wadsworth stated it best: “One cannot imagine that Joseph Smith, with his active, curious mind, would not be intrigued by the new magic of daguerreotypy, and as a result be among the first in Nauvoo to pose for his likeness.”
It has been noted that Joseph Smith did not mention sitting for a daguerreotype in his journals. On the same day as his interview with Brother Foster, the Prophet was engaged in a bitter legal battle with the same apostates who would later murder him. Besides this, there are numerous stories, incidents, and events from the life of the Prophet that are not recorded in his journals. One glaring omission is the Prophet’s interview with Martin Van Buren, President of the United States. We learn of that infamous meeting through other sources, i.e., letters, speeches etc., but strangely not from Joseph’s journals. The year 1844 also filled the Prophet’s mind with his campaign for President. The Prophet must have had a great deal of faith in Foster because he chose him to be a member of the central committee involved in his presidential nomination and the management of his national campaign. He was the youngest of the men given that honor.
Of the various men assembled to get the Prophet elected president was W. W. Phelps. The Prophet chose Phelps’s due to his knowledge of the press and talent for writing. Why would the Prophet choose Foster? Could it be that Lucien’s photographic talent was considered in the committee’s national publicity plan? Again Wadsworth speculates:
It is difficult to imagine Smith not inquiring about the photographer’s newly- acquired trade and how it might aid in the upcoming campaign. At the time of the political convention, Foster was probably setting up his gallery on Main Street, fitted, no doubt, with a skylight or other window light to admit illumination for portraiture. Such a portrait from life of the new candidate would be of great value in making engravings for posters, newspaper stories, and articles during the campaign... Is it not likely that during all this political furor in Nauvoo that Foster took the Mormon prophet into his newly furbished Main Street gallery and captured his likeness on one or more daguerreotype plates? The coming campaign cried for such a portrait.
Taking a daguerreotype of the Prophet would also benefit Lucien Foster. Who better to use as an example of his art to the citizens of Nauvoo than the most influential man of Mormondom.
Soon after this interview, Foster took up residence in the Mansion House, (in 1842 the Smith’s turned their home into a Hotel/Boarding House to help raise extra money.) Undoubtedly Foster used his room at the Prophet’s Homestead as a temporary place of business while he prepared his photography studio on Main Street.
Lucien Foster was not in Nauvoo when the Prophet was assassinated. He had journeyed to New York to promote the Prophet’s presidential platform but he returned as soon as the tragic news swept the country. He no longer had the distraction of campaigning for Joseph and could return to his vocation as photographer. He announced his return to Nauvoo and the photography business with an advertisement in the Nauvoo Neighbor:
Monday, 29. - At home; received a visit from L. R. Foster of New York, who gave me a gold pencil case, sent me by Brother Theodore Curtis, who is now in New York; and the first words I wrote with it were, "God bless the man!"
What did these two men discuss during their interview? There can be no doubt that Joseph Smith knew Foster well. His long sojourn as Branch President of New York and his future plans to capture the life of the Mormons in photo must have been part of their conversation. Perhaps the Prophet saw the camera as a new means of spreading the Gospel. Maybe they discussed the possibly of changing the nation’s misconceptions about the Mormon community through this new medium. Who is to say? Perhaps Mormon photo historian Nelson Wadsworth stated it best: “One cannot imagine that Joseph Smith, with his active, curious mind, would not be intrigued by the new magic of daguerreotypy, and as a result be among the first in Nauvoo to pose for his likeness.”
It has been noted that Joseph Smith did not mention sitting for a daguerreotype in his journals. On the same day as his interview with Brother Foster, the Prophet was engaged in a bitter legal battle with the same apostates who would later murder him. Besides this, there are numerous stories, incidents, and events from the life of the Prophet that are not recorded in his journals. One glaring omission is the Prophet’s interview with Martin Van Buren, President of the United States. We learn of that infamous meeting through other sources, i.e., letters, speeches etc., but strangely not from Joseph’s journals. The year 1844 also filled the Prophet’s mind with his campaign for President. The Prophet must have had a great deal of faith in Foster because he chose him to be a member of the central committee involved in his presidential nomination and the management of his national campaign. He was the youngest of the men given that honor.
Of the various men assembled to get the Prophet elected president was W. W. Phelps. The Prophet chose Phelps’s due to his knowledge of the press and talent for writing. Why would the Prophet choose Foster? Could it be that Lucien’s photographic talent was considered in the committee’s national publicity plan? Again Wadsworth speculates:
It is difficult to imagine Smith not inquiring about the photographer’s newly- acquired trade and how it might aid in the upcoming campaign. At the time of the political convention, Foster was probably setting up his gallery on Main Street, fitted, no doubt, with a skylight or other window light to admit illumination for portraiture. Such a portrait from life of the new candidate would be of great value in making engravings for posters, newspaper stories, and articles during the campaign... Is it not likely that during all this political furor in Nauvoo that Foster took the Mormon prophet into his newly furbished Main Street gallery and captured his likeness on one or more daguerreotype plates? The coming campaign cried for such a portrait.
Taking a daguerreotype of the Prophet would also benefit Lucien Foster. Who better to use as an example of his art to the citizens of Nauvoo than the most influential man of Mormondom.
Soon after this interview, Foster took up residence in the Mansion House, (in 1842 the Smith’s turned their home into a Hotel/Boarding House to help raise extra money.) Undoubtedly Foster used his room at the Prophet’s Homestead as a temporary place of business while he prepared his photography studio on Main Street.
Lucien Foster was not in Nauvoo when the Prophet was assassinated. He had journeyed to New York to promote the Prophet’s presidential platform but he returned as soon as the tragic news swept the country. He no longer had the distraction of campaigning for Joseph and could return to his vocation as photographer. He announced his return to Nauvoo and the photography business with an advertisement in the Nauvoo Neighbor:
MINIATURE LIKENESSES.
L.R. FOSTER, is now prepared to take Likenesses, by the Daguerreotype process, in the most beautiful style of the art, either plain or coloured, at his Daguerreotype Rooms, on Main Street, a few rods above Ivin’s Store.
By this wonderful process, which is a combination of nature and art, a more correct and beautiful likeness can be obtained, than by any other method which had been know to man. An image of the person, as exact as that formed by a mirror, is transferred to, and permanently fixed upon a highly polished silver plate, through the agency of an optical instrument. Only two or three minutes are required for the operation. The discovery was made by a Frenchman named Daguerre, (hence the name Daguerreotype,) and has excited the wonder, admiration and surprise of every one, upon first beholding the effects of the art; and such is the beauty of the work, and so perfectly to the life is nature shown up in her every lineament and feature and expression, that each succeeding specimen serves only to increase but not to satiate these emotions of the mind. How valuable or rather invaluable, would be such a likeness of an absent or departed friend.
Specimens may be seen at the Rooms, and at the Nauvoo Mansion;
Price only three dollars, including a handsome morocco case.
Instructions in the Art, given upon reasonable terms, and Apparatus for sale.
L.R. FOSTER, is now prepared to take Likenesses, by the Daguerreotype process, in the most beautiful style of the art, either plain or coloured, at his Daguerreotype Rooms, on Main Street, a few rods above Ivin’s Store.
By this wonderful process, which is a combination of nature and art, a more correct and beautiful likeness can be obtained, than by any other method which had been know to man. An image of the person, as exact as that formed by a mirror, is transferred to, and permanently fixed upon a highly polished silver plate, through the agency of an optical instrument. Only two or three minutes are required for the operation. The discovery was made by a Frenchman named Daguerre, (hence the name Daguerreotype,) and has excited the wonder, admiration and surprise of every one, upon first beholding the effects of the art; and such is the beauty of the work, and so perfectly to the life is nature shown up in her every lineament and feature and expression, that each succeeding specimen serves only to increase but not to satiate these emotions of the mind. How valuable or rather invaluable, would be such a likeness of an absent or departed friend.
Specimens may be seen at the Rooms, and at the Nauvoo Mansion;
Price only three dollars, including a handsome morocco case.
Instructions in the Art, given upon reasonable terms, and Apparatus for sale.
With all of Nauvoo mourning their departed Prophet and friend, Foster’s inferred statement, “How valuable or rather invaluable, would be such a likeness of an absent or departed friend” rings loud and clear. It is worthy to note that Foster states in this ad that “Specimens may be seen at the Rooms [Foster’s Daguerreotype Rooms], and at the Nauvoo Mansion.” Since Foster’s studio would have carried a daguerreotype gallery, why would Foster show samples at the Nauvoo Mansion? When the previous sentence is read together with this one, the message can be seen. “How valuable or rather invaluable, would be such a likeness of an absent or departed friend. Specimens may be seen... at the Nauvoo Mansion.” Since the daguerreotype of Joseph now belonged to Emma it would naturally be at her house. Those who wanted to view it would have to inquire of her.
Young Joseph III would have been just under twelve years old when Foster came to Nauvoo. He remembered the daguerreotype and his father’s friend, L. R. Foster, when he stated:
It fortunately happens to us... [that we know the] characteristic likeness [of] my father by the daguerreotype in our possession, taken the same year, I think [1843] by an artist by the name of Lucian Foster.
On the 30th of April, 1879, Emma Smith died. Her life had been difficult. Like her prophetic husband, both good and evil had been spoken of her. Yet, despite it all, no one ever claimed that she did not strive to protect her husband’s image as she felt best. Joseph III also protected his Father’s name in the same manner. On the 25th of July, just three months after his mother’s death, Joseph III took the daguerreotype to the Library of Congress to secure it in his name. He was also preparing to sell copies of it.
