The origins of American photography : from daguerreotype to dry-plate, 1839-1885 / Keith F. Davis ; with contributions by Jane L. Aspinwall ; director's foreword by Marc F. Wilson.
"Published to accompany the exhibition Developing greatness: the origins of American photography, 1839-1885; from daguerreotype to dry-plate at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, June 9-December 30, 2007"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
End of an era -- Preface and acknowledgments -- ch. 4. The pioneering generation : 1839-1843 -- Ideas and inventions -- The daguerreotype in America : 1839 -- Beyond the laboratory : 1840 -- The foundation of a profession : 1841-43 -- Case studies : Southworth & Hawes and John Plumbe -- ch. 2. Leaders in the profession : a regional survey -- Boston and vicinity -- Philadelphia and vicinity -- New York City and State -- The South -- The West -- California and the Pacific Coast -- ch. 3. Being a daguerreotypist -- A new profession -- Secrets of the dark chamber -- At work -- A contentious fraternity -- The daguerreian economy -- Exhibitions and competitions -- The language of light : commerce and art -- ch. 4. The face of a nation -- The cultural importance of portraiture -- The portrait tradition -- Illustrious Americans -- Pictures and things : the human artifact -- High and low : the aesthetics of portraiture -- Daguerreian genres and themes -- The occupational daguerreotype -- Ethnicity and race -- Memorial and postmortem images -- The American scene -- Outdoor views -- Gold and the West -- Comic, allegorical, and artistic works -- End of an era -- ch. 8. Index. Paper and glass in Europe -- Paper photography in America -- Antebellum America on paper : picture, view, and likeness -- New formats : the stereograph and carte-de-visite -- ch. 6. "A terrible distinctness" : photography of the Civil War Era, 1861-1865 -- A mass market for pictures -- Photography and the illustrated press -- Brady, Gardner, and the aesthetics of war -- Photography and the military -- End game : victory, trauma, and the war of memory -- ch. 7. Nature and culture : scenic, topographic, and promotional views -- The art of landscape -- The Eastern landscape : scenic and topographic views -- Yosemite and Carleton E. Watkins -- The push West : troops, tracks, and treaties -- Timothy O'Sullivan and the King and Wheeler surveys -- William Henry Jackson and John K. Hillers : the Hayden and Powell surveys -- ch. 8. A world of photographs -- Napoleon Sarony and the new art of portraiture -- Reality in focus -- Art and invention -- Instantaneous vision -- The dry-plate revolution -- Notes -- Catalogue -- Index.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.