Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-06-13
EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY.
INTERESTING INCIDENTS OF THE
ART IN ITS INFANT DAYS.
Prof. y. q. u. Morse the Pioneer In Da-
gurrreotype worL--The First sun Pie
tar~ Ever Taken In America--Eow II
Was Done.

tar- Ever taken Ia America--How n
Was Done.
There ARE some interesting memoirs con.
nectcd with early photography in this
country and city Photography dawnc,l
on the world at about the same time AS
telegraphy and ut about the same date MS
steam railroadin' And Morse, the leadin'
man in the telegraph, and Daguerre, the
leadin' man in the photograph tat first
called the daguerreotypel, became personal
friends, and each got interested In the
Others lincs-a thing which very seldom
happens 10 that class Of people.
Morse, when he was in Paris tryin' 20
push his lghtnin' messages, was intro.
duced by Robert Walsh, nt Philadelphia,
the American consul at Paris, To Mons.
Daguerre, who was tryin' To push his sun
pictures. The two men took great fancy
Ia each other, just like two brothers;
showed each other their inventions
and told each other their plans. Each
promised 10 help the other after he had
first helped himself, and each kept his
promise.
Daguerrc never got chance TO be OF
much real aid Ia Morse I'm Paris, but he
did what he could all the same-talketl
enthusiastically about the telegraph and
shrugged his shoulders enthusiastically,
as only u Frenchman can. but Morse,
when he got back to New York, took hold
of his ehum Dagnerre's hobby and intro
fuced IL into the metropolis. The first
telegrapher may thus lie said To have been
the first photographer.
There was at this time In New York a
fine instrument maker, almost genius in
his way, called pr0sch, who had shop
In basement ON Nassau street, very
curious sort Of IA place; a den Of scientific
odds and ends. haunted by odd and scicn.
tific men. Morse saw prusch and gave
him full ilea of Daguerrc's inventions,
and showed him plan of the apparatus,
needed to carry out Dagucrre's ideas He
also gave Prosch an order 10 make this
apparatus. Prosch set to work and made
rude affair. which was the first picture
taking apparatus ever made In this coun-
try, and turned il over to Morse And
then one mornin', "A really memorable
mernin', in its way, Morse, with the aid
OF this rude instrument, took the first sun
picture or daguerrcotype ever taken in
America.
lie took il OF OF the steps leadin' 10
prosclI's den. lie placed the camera on
the steps and got a pretty good picture OF
the old brick church tthe Rev. DIR. Springs
church, opposite 10 the city hall-on the
spot now occupied by the Times news
paper and the Potter buildn' In the
foreground of this picture was hack. and
its sleepy horse, with its still more sleepy
driver.
This first daguerrcotype or photo
graph was, Of course, n primitive affair,
worse than "A tintype now, but IL was, new
ertheless, Il great, wonderful thing under
the circumstances. IL demonstrated that
pictures Of the earth and things and peo-
Pile Oh IL, could be taken by the aid Of the
sun, just as certainly and truthfuily as
ideas could be transmitted by electricity,
and really one fact was almost as import
ant as the other. IL was a truly memor-
able mornin in New York when Morse
took the first daguerreotype off OF prosch' $
basement steps, although il then took him
nearly M hour, all In all, TO complete the
operation.
Professor Draper wns n great friend of
Morse, and he got interested in this new
thing. lie and Morse experimental to-
gether. Draper was great ON chemistry.
He soon improved on the original daguerre-
otype, and one day he astonished Morse
b. takin' his Morse - picture with his
eyes open. giving the natural expression of
the eyes.
This was big step onward; for at first
all the pictures taken OF human beings
had TO he taken with the eyes closed, on
account Of the glare. Imagine a pretty
woman sittin' for her picture and havin'
not only to hold her tongue but close her
eyes-shut her eyes as well as shut up.
IL would he as hard that way to have
your picture taken as your tooth taken.
Draper and Morse used 10 take their
early pictures from a window OF the old
university buildin', where Morse lived.
One Of their successful pictures was the
tower OF the Church OF Messiah. about
the size OF n playin' card. The first pict-
ures were all OF 'em pictures of buildin's,
streets and so on. But mt last Morse took
a portrait-put the human face and figure
into sun picture. This was step on
ward aud upward; for as Morse took his
first object picture ON the steps leadin' TO
Prosch's cellar, 50 he took his first face
and figure picture ON top OF the university
bnildin', In "A sort of studio he had
erected there on the roof, and which was
the first Photographic ''studio" ever
started in America
The first lady whose picture was ever
taken by the sunlight In this city was the
young daughter Of Professor Morse The
next lady taken was his daughter !
bosom friend, and the pictures taken OF
these two are still in existence among the
eh ticest curiosities and treasures OF Vas
sar college.
The first man In New York who made
a regular business of takin' pictures or
photographs was the instrument maker
prosch, whom have already mentioned
Prosch saw big thing in IL. and opened
what he called ..tiaguerring gallery on
the corner Of l.iber,, street and BROAD
way. His first sitter and customer was
Professor West of the old Rutgers female
institute, who was thus the very first
man who ever paid 10 have his Photograph
taken, all the other pictures mp to this
time havin' been taken as an experiment,
free.
But the professor paid for his pictures
like man, and from that time on the
business OF takin' pictures has ilourished
in New York. IL would MAKE a pho
tographer sick nowadays to think how
Prosch had to get his sunlight for this
first picture. He had 10 hang a big mir.
ror right outside his shop, ON Broadway.
so rs TO reflect the sunlight full on the
professors face.-Sew York Mercury In
terview.
A Mistake Corrected.
First Sweet Child-Ohl Isn't Il loyelyl
NIaaarv n Hkat. 4 a a