The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-03-04
The Daguerreotypo

was claimed that the honor of TAX
ing the first daguerrean portrait of
a living person was not due to Prof.
John w. Draper. but to Mr.. A. S.
Wolcott,of New York AS | was a
resident of New York at the time
Daguerres process was brought
from Paris, and was intimate with
the gentlemen who were the first to
try the novel process, wish to tell
what I know about it. Daguerre's
discovery was reported to the world
in January, 1885, The 10Th of AU-
gust of the same year Daguerre IL
llstrated his process by experiments
in the presence of Arago and large
company of distinguished persons.
AS Daguerre'S pictures required an
exposure of twenty minutes-tOo
long for taking portraits-he stated
that living objects could not be
taken; they could not keep still
long enough.
By order of the French govern
ment the secret was purchased of
Daguerre and published. A pam
phlet describing the process was
brought to New York by a Mr..
Seger, who took it to Prof. Morse,
of telegraph fame. Morse was quick
to see that a new field of art indus
try would be opened. He took it
to his instrument maker, George w.
Prosch, and said: MAKE the appa-
rasus described III the pamphlet as
soon as you can" In a few days it
was done, and the first trial was q
picture of the old Brick Church (Dr.
Spring's) and the city hall. In the
foreground stood a hack and horses
on the stand and the diver sleeping
on his seat. The picture was a
great curiosity. Prosch's shop was
in the basement of the old Morse
Building, No. 142 Nassau street.
The camera was placed on the steps
leading to the basement. This was
the first daguerreotype of still life
taken in this country. 1t Wa3 done
in October, in less than month
after Seger's arrival. AS Prosch
did work for the institution repre-
scented, Rutgers Female Institute,
l was i'll his shop almost every day
and saw him making the camera
for Professor Morse. l saw
this first picture many times,
which was a great curiosity
Besides Messrs. Morse and PIosch
l frequently met DR.. James r.
Chiffon, chemist, and DR.. John
w. Draper, who were deeply inter
ested in the new art. | expert
mented little myself. The first
thing of Importance was to get q
good working acromatic lens, and
the second, chemicals more sensi
tive to the action of light thar
iodine. Draper succeeded in both
He had d good lens, and was sue
cessful in preparing bromide o.
iodine, which greatly reduced the
time for exposing the plate. The
end was achieved in his taking the
first portrait of the human face by
Daguerre's process.
Morse afterwards tried it, anC
took portrait of his daughter
Prosch Immediately opened a
daguerrean gallery at the corner O.
Broadway and Liberty street.
was the first to sit for my portra it
By means of q mirror suspended
outside Of a window, the light O.
the sun was thrown directly upoI
my face. OF course my eyes were
closed, and the portrait was without
those important features of the hu
man face. These dagGerreOtypes-
for | had SEVERAL used to exhibit
in my lectures till they entirely fade(
out. The process Of gliding was no
then known. About this time, OIL
soon Iafter. others went into the
business, and among the most sue
cessful was A. s. WOlcott, who
opened rooms in the granite build
ing, No. 2T3, corner of Broadway
and ChambeTs-street. Immediately
made his acquaintance and set TO
| nv portrait. Several of these art
still in my possession. WOlcOtt con
triyed an elliptical mirror which III
used in place of lens, which pos
sessed the advantage of presenting
the picture in its right position
and not reversed, as in case Of tn
lens, but it had the serious disad
vantage Of limiting the size of tn
. plate and representing parts Whic
are at all distant from the centre i
very confused manner. Still, Wo
colt was successful in taking til
best portraits in the city. He wa
not ready to the work till the sprin
of 1S49. He described his apparatu
in Prof. Mape's american keposit
org, a short-lived journal; but i
2 no instance can [ find in that jou
> nal that he took the first portal
nor was it claimed fer any one els
than Draper, for that was concede
: by all those early daguerrean work
ers. About the year 1860 the que
ton of priority was raise
by the friends of Wolco
in the American Institut
A committee of investigation We
appointed, consisting of Alessr
Mendez Cohen, Samuel D. Tillmal
and Charles a. Seeley, members {
the institute, to call on DR.. Drape
and learn from him what he had
say on the subject. They did s
and DR.. Draper sent them after
wards a written statement, Whic
was published in his "Scientif
Memoirs" which appeared from til
press of Harper & Brothers in 1877
1 Fnhn Fwsn-ln e