Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-07-05
BIRTH OF THE CAMERA.
tcrestingIy of the Discovery
of Photography.


terestingIy of the Discovery
of Photography.
From the five-minute sitting to the
instantaneous flash, from the stony
reproduction to the picturing of life
itself, Gus Henriod, of Nephi, has run
the gamut of Photographed develop
ment, Mr.. Henriod was present at,
he even assisted, in the birth of pho
Biography. He has seen the infant
grow through the last siXty-odd years,
until it has become one of the most
valued adjuncts of modern civilization,
says the Salt Lake Herald.
1t was along in the year 1880 that
Daguerre, an obscure little French
man, came to the home of Mr.. Hen
RODS father and asked to be taken
in as boarder. This was in the sea-
port town of Havre, then, as now,
one of the most important maritime
centers in the world. The elder Hen
riod was marine insurance writer.
He had large house, and there was
room in it for Daguerre.
One morning at the breakfast table
Daguerre amused the Henriod family
by telling of a curious experience he
had had during the night. He said
he was lying awake in bed when he
noticed on the ceiling above him re-
Elections of people and carriages.
They seeNed to be moving along in
an endless procession, and for mo-
ment Daguerre thought the room was
haunted. Casting about for solu-
ton of the mystery, he noticed a
small shaft of moonlight that came
through a knothole in his shutter He
placed his finger over the hole and the
procession on the ceiling stopped.
Again he let the light through and
again the procession began. The mys-
terry was solved. The people and the
vehicles were passing along the street,
and their shadows were projected
through the knothole, every other
crevice that light could penetrate be.
ing stopped up.
Here was the birth of photography
Daguerre conceived the notion that
images, such as he had seen, could be
fixed on a plate. He set to work on
his notion, publishing notes of his
discoveries from time to time, and
being laughed at for his pains until
the hour came when the scoffers were
silenced.
an. Daguerre had been working on
his invention for year or more when
he called me into his service" said
Mr.. Henriod, the other day. 81 was
| then a lad of not more than eight OF
nine years of age. He asked me to
sit for him while he made some cx
periments. l tell you it was trying
work for small boy to sit perfectly
still for seven, eight, ten minutes al
time. NJ. Daguerre took me into his
dark room frequently. He had bored
little hole in shutter, and on sun
shiny days the image of passing peo
pie and things would be cast through
it onto the ceiling.
"Then he made what he called q
chambre noire, or, as you would say
camera obscura. 1t had lens tC
| it, and he would make me sit in from
of the lens many minutes during his
experiments. At first he could catci
only a shadowy outline of my figure
Then he caught a dark, solid mas
without any features at all.
"But seven months after / began Il
sit for him he produced very fail
likeness, and he was the happiest MAJ
| you ever saw. The camera was con
sidered by all who saw it to be mos
wonderful invention. 1t is true tina
those who desired their pictures takei
must sit possibly ten minutes to brini
out the likeness. The least motion
would ruin the picture and then i
would all have to be done over again
Then a separate sitting had to b'
given for each picture. That is, If yol
wanted a dozen pictures you had Il
sit a dozen times. They couldn't al
be printed from one plate as now
But NJ. Daguerre kept on working I'M
til he had at least laid strong founda
ton for the photography of to-day
Now they take picture, zip, like that
and it's all over"
Mr.. Henriod shrugged his shoulder
gleefully. 81 am proud of my ac
quaintance with Daguerre," he con
cluded. even though l was but
small boy when / knew him, / hav
remembered him all the years of m.
life, and I shall continue to remembe
him to the end"