The Bigger Picture: Visual Archives and the Smithsonian
Sneak Peek: 11/9/2011
Comments (4) – Leave a comment
Wow, I didn't know a camera was already invented during the 1880's. I thought the camera was invented in the 1900's.

Hi Gary-
Actually cameras--simple pinhole cameras and the camera obscura--have been around in abundance since the 17th century! But there was no way to preserve the images made by these cameras other than to trace them by hand. Many artists indeed used this method to aid their drawing. The printed photograph emerged in the early 1800s, with the first practical printing method, the daguerreotype, taking off in the 1830s. The daguerreotype was named after Louis Daguerre, whose birthday anniversary was last week--you may have noticed the Google Doodle in honor of him :)
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2011/1118/Louis-Daguerre-photography-pioneer-honored-wi...
Thanks for dropping by!
Catherine
I agree! It's great to be able to slip into the past via historical photographs and to see views unobstructed by skyscrapers!
Thanks for your input!
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