Portraits occasionally surpass even the most sublime power of the presence.

A power of the moment exists in certain images in proportion to their importance in the life of the subject. A daguerreotype of a bride, of a woman nursing, of a mother holding her dead child, are examples. A higher class of portraits relate to significant elements in the history of a nation, race, or cause. A famous man--perhaps a President, a slave, an Indian, a women dressed in bloomers, are examples.
Both types of power of the moment may enhance a beautiful image or add significance to an image that is not otherwise beautiful, but neither lie within the scope of this essay.

There is another power of the moment that radiates only from the beauty captured within a daguerreotype. Most existent daguerreian portraits record a relatively insignificant moment in the life of an anonymous sitter, yet all great art is rooted in the insignificant. When a daguerreian artist transmuted a common moment into an image of great beauty, his accomplishment added power of the moment to whatever power of the presence already filled his lens.

MATTHEW B. BRADY (1823-1896) Brady, perhaps the most famous American daguerreotypist, was an artist working in New York City by 1837. He learned the daguerreian process sometime between 1840 and 1842. Beginning as a case maker, Brady opened his first portrait gallery in late 1843 or early 1844. Brady achieved widespread notice after he published his "Gallery of Famous Americans" in 1850, and won a medal at the Crystal Palace exhibit in London in 1851. He opened his famous Washington D.C. gallery in 1858. By 1850, Brady had achieved an international reputation. This image amply demonstrates the reasons why. Brady's greatest contribution to the photographic history of America was to come during the approaching Civil War.

QUARTER PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE Subject: Grandmother holding sleeping child Artist: MATHEW BRADY. New York City c1852 (Click on the image to view further details)

QUARTER PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE Subject: Three siblings. Artist: CHARLES H. WILLIAMSON. Brooklyn, NY c1858 (Click on the image to view further details)

CHARLES H. WILLIAMSON Williamson began daguerreotyping for Marcus Root in Philadelphia 1849-50. He opened a gallery in Brooklyn from 1851 to 1859. Little research has yet been done on his operation. His brother's name was Edward M. Williamson. Williamson invented what he called a "Cameotype" daguerreotype and was a superb colorist. His beautifully tinted portraits of mothers and children are characteristically and consistently, outstanding works of art. The Madonna-like style of many daguerreotypes from his gallery might be considered somewhat akin to the work of the late-19th century American painter Mary Cassett.

QUARTER PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE Subject: Mother and her two daughters. Artist: THE WILLIAMSON BROTHERS. Brooklyn, NY c1858 (Click on the image to view further details)

In this second example as in so many other products of the Williamson gallery, genius is evident in the arrangement of the subjects. In most other galleries the photographer would place the mother in center with a child on each side. The Williamson brothers break convention by centering their focus upon the youngest child. An unlikely subject, but through her-- A PERFECT MOMENT: The flicker of a candle in the black extinction of the past. Such a candle as only the daguerreotype can light. Savor their expressions. Imagine posing them the moment before. Slip vicariously into their youthful lives. Through this daguerreian eyepiece, travel from our present into theirs.

QUARTER PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE
Subject: Little girl with her new tea set.
Artist: C. H. WILLIAMSON. Brooklyn, NY c1856


(Click on the image to view further details)

JOHN ADAMS WHIPPLE (1822-1891) Whipple's daguerreian career spanned the years 1840-1859. He won fame for his celestial daguerreotypes of the moon & sun, yet his Boston gallery was also noted for its superb portrait photography. In 1851 Whipple won a bronze medal at the Crystal Palace exhibit in London, and in 1853 he won a silver medal at the New York Crystal Palace. Whipple's famous Boston gallery advertised his specialties of taking large scale and group daguerreotypes. To arrange and capture a group portrait was considered a special challenge for the daguerreian operator--"the true test of an artist's skill". Whipple proved especially successful at creating a "relaxed, intimate air of interaction" within any group. This famous artist consistently achieved impeccable heights of posing, clarity, lighting, contrast, depth, and a richness of texture in his daguerreotypes. His images often achieved a degree of quality rarely found in the best photographs of the present day. [Sally Pierce, Whipple and Black: Commercial Photographers in Boston. (Boston: Boston Athenaeum, 1987), 7-8.]

QUARTER PLATE DAGUERREOTYPE Subject: Two Women and Children Artist: JOHN A. WHIPPLE. Boston, Massachusetts c1855. (Click on the image to view further details)