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The Daguerreotypist

The Daguerreotypist
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Marcus Aurelius Root, 1808 - 1888
Date
1849
Type
Print
Medium
Wood engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14.7 × 11.7 cm (5 13/16 × 4 5/8")
Sheet: 25.1 × 15.9 cm (9 7/8 × 6 1/4")
Mat (Verified): 45.7 x 35.6cm (18 x 14")
Topic
Printed Material\Book
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Interior\Studio
Artwork\Photograph
Nature & Environment\Animal\Dog
Architecture\Column
Equipment\Camera
Equipment\Camera\Tripod
Marcus Aurelius Root: Male
Marcus Aurelius Root: Visual Arts\Artist\Printmaker
Marcus Aurelius Root: Visual Arts\Artist\Photographer\Daguerreotypist
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
S/NPG.77.242
Exhibition Label
Writing for the popular magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book in the spring of 1849, novelist and short-story writer Timothy S. Arthur described the enormous popularity of daguerreian portraiture in America. “In our great cities,” he observed, “a Daguerreotypist is to be found in almost every square; and there is scarcely a county in any state that has not one or more of these industrious individuals busy at work.”
Created to illustrate the Godey’s article, this wood engraving depicts a scene in Marcus Aurelius Root’s daguerreian gallery in Philadelphia. As Root readies the camera, his assistant—most likely his brother, Samuel—adjusts the headrest to stabilize the apprehensive sitter during the several seconds required to capture his likeness.
En un escrito para la conocida revista Godey’s Lady’s Book en la primavera de 1849, el novelista y cuentista Timothy S. Arthur describió la enorme popularidad de los retratos en daguerrotipo por todo Estados Unidos. “En nuestras grandes ciudades”, observó, “se encuentra un daguerrotipista en casi todas las plazas; y apenas hay condado, en cualquier estado, que no tenga activo uno o más de estos industriosos personajes”.
Este grabado en madera que ilustró el artículo de Godey’s presenta una escena en la galería de daguerrotipia de Marcus Aurelius Root en Filadelfia. Mientras Root prepara la cámara, su asistente (posiblemente su hermano Samuel) ajusta el respaldo de la silla para estabilizar al inquieto modelo durante los segundos necesarios para captar su imagen.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view