THE DAGUERREIAN SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

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Article 10 to succeed.” 8 Fortunately, she did. Charles’s accomplishment stands out as unique, since he was the only American, or non- French daguerreotypist of any nationality, to daguerreotype Daguerre. A�erwards, Charles “continued to enjoy the hospitality of the illustrious Frenchman for a considerable period and is still on his list of personal friends.” 9 C. W. Can�eld had started out by speculating that it was unlikely that Daguerre, who was notoriously reluctant to pose and who was said to be a “naturally restless dyspeptic,” would be willing to sit for a large number of portraits when Charles R. Meade visited. 10 By the end of his second article, Can�eld had discussed �ve portraits, 11 referred to the Orr engraving in his �rst (but decided it was based on Fig. 2), and also cited Marcus Root as saying there were “�ve or six” Meade portraits. As time has passed, several more of the Meade “white-tie” ones have emerged or been identi�ed. Beaumont Newhall wrote of seven, including the Orr engraving. In this article, I discuss nine—with Fig. 9, the Orr engraving, possibly representing another daguerreotype. 12 As more discoveries have been made, it has become abundantly clear that Daguerre did, indeed, exhibit a great deal of patience and friendship for Charles by posing for so many portraits, the majority of those that were ever taken of him. Notes 1. Bott, Rita Ellen, “Charles R. Meade and His Daguerre Pictures,” History of Photography 8, no. 1 (January–March 1984), 33–40. 2. Can�eld, C. W., “Portraits of Daguerre,” and “More Portraits of Daguerre,” American Annual of Photography (1891), 23–36; (1893), 77–81. 3. Can�eld, C. W., “Portraits of Daguerre,” 28–29. 4. Daguerreian Journal 1, no. 1 (November 1, 1850), cover. On p. 17, it says, “. . . for the original Daguerreotype, from which the likeness was designed, we are indebted to MEADE BRO<strong>THE</strong>R [sic], of this city, who have a �ne Daguerreotype and the only one in this country, of the discoverer of this art. It is said by those who have seen the original, that ours is a capital likeness; and we are willing to endorse this from the fact, that the Daguerreotype by Meads [sic], is a �nely developed impression, possessing great spirit, and a free development; and our engraving, in point of likeness, is a fac simile of the Daguerreotype.” In 1891, Can�eld struggled to reconcile the “only one in this country” claim (an exaggeration for advertising) with his knowledge that there were more than one. He decided the engraving was likely to have been based on Fig. 2. Beaumont Newhall, however, does accept it as literally representing another original, which apparently is not otherwise known. 5. Newhall, Beaumont, “Seven Portraits of Daguerre,” New Mexico Studies in Fine Art 4 (1979), 8–10. 6. Ta�, Robert, Photography and the American Scene: A Social History, 1839–1889 (New York: Dover, 1964, 1938), 92–93, refers to M. �érèse Bonney as “probably the foremost daguerreotype collector in the world” (in 1938). It says that she exhibited her collection at the Knoedler Galleries and the National Museum in 1933–34. �e Knoedler catalog does not list a Daguerre portrait. Bonney herself was a distinguished photographer. 7. Bott, Rita Ellen, “Charles R. Meade and His Daguerre Pictures,” 33. Meade portraits uniformly show Daguerre wearing a white tie. In those taken by French daguerreotypists E. �iesson, J. B. Sabatier-Blot, and Pierre-Ambroise Richebourg, Daguerre wears a black stock or tie. Fig. 9. Meade, Charles R. Meade Brothers Studio. Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, 1787–1851. Engraving, copied from Meade daguerreotype. Daguerreian Journal 1, no. 1 (November 1, 1850), cover. Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs. �e New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. 8. “Daguerreotype of Daguerre,” in New York Tribune, October 19, 1850. 9. Ibid. �e article also says that in Daguerre’s laboratory, “Mr. Meade executed several most excellent likenesses of the great inventor, giving one to him and one to the neice [sic], and bringing the others to this country. He also took a likeness of the girl to whom he was so much indebted. . . .” It adds that her portrait, Daguerre’s, and a picture of his château were all then on display at the Meades’ 233 Broadway gallery. 10. Can�eld, C. W., “Portraits of Daguerre,” 30. 11. Can�eld, C. W., “More Portraits of Daguerre,” 78–79. 12. In presenting Fig. 9 as another portrait, the author acknowledges that whether it represents a separate, original daguerreotype, as its accompanying Daguerreian Journal description suggests (see 4) and as Beaumont Newhall believed, or whether its likeness was possibly “designed” from one of the other, known portraits for use on the new journal’s cover, is uncertain. The Daguerreian Society Newsletter January - March 2010!"
Symposium Committee Report Sally J. Anyan Our 22nd Symposium is now booked in Atlanta. Host, Michael Rose at the Atlanta History Center and board member George Whiteley asked us to consider earlier dates in October to coincide with Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP). We have taken them up on the o�er and are totally reserved for October 21-24, 2010. �e ACP folks are pleased to welcome us as part of their annual, month-long, city-wide celebration of photography. �is will be an exciting event for anyone who loves photography of any kind. We will be headquartered at the Doubletree Hotel Atlanta Buckhead, 3342 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30326, a full-service, boutique-feeling hotel with true Southern charm in trendy Buckhead. �irty minutes from the airport, and conveniently a short block and a half from the MARTA transportation system, our hotel is located in a quiet park-like setting in the heart of Atlanta’s �nancial district. �e hotel’s 230 rooms are in a smoke-free environment. If you attended the 1996 Symposium in Atlanta, we are in the same comfortable hotel; however, it has changed ownership and gone through a recent extensive up-grade. �e �ursday evening Gala Reception will open with an exhibition from the collections of George and Susan Whiteley, with the Symposium lectures the following day. All will take place in McElreath Hall located on the 33 acre campus of the Atlanta History Center. �e TradeFair will be conveniently held at the DoubleTree hotel in their ballroom. It is only appropriate that the ballroom’s name is Peachtree. �rough the e�orts of Co-President Mike Robinson and George Whiteley, there will be a juried exhibition of contemporary daguerreotypes while we are in Atlanta. Mike will be giving a demonstration on making daguerreotypes and Grant Romer will give a passionate talk about this earliest form of photography. Both of these events will happen on Wednesday, October 20 at the High Museum of Art, being part of the pre-symposium planning and Atlanta Celebrates Photography events. Also in the works is a personally guided tour of Atlanta’s Cyclorama, the world’s largest painting which depicts the historic Battle of Atlanta. To receive all the latest information on the Symposium, please make sure we have your most up-to-date email address so you may receive our Constant Contact messages. Feel free to send the information to info@daguerre.org. �e operating loss for this year includes the cost of two prior year Annuals and the last of the costs for the Easterly Memorial. Without those extraordinary expenses the net operating loss for the year would have been only -$9,437. Adding that to the Ebay Auction Income and Symposium Income would result in a Net Pro�t of $14,393. �e 2008 Annuals were recently mailed to the Society members (kudos to Mark for another great publication!) and the 2009-2010 Annual is in production with delivery projected for the end of this year. �is will bring us current with the Annual publication and with related costs, and will eliminate the carryover of extraordinary expenses. Reports �e Daguerreian Society Balance Sheet December 31, 2009 Assets Cash-Operating 24,908 Money Market 71,894 Utility Deposit 138 Total Assets 96,939 Liabilities Payroll Taxes Payable 1,749 Accounts Payable-2008 Annual 12,000 Accounts Payable-2009-10 Annual 15,000 Total Liabilities 28,749 Equity Retained Earnings 48,759 Unrestricted Net Assets 66,979 Net Income -47,548 Total Equity 68,191 Total Liabilities & Equity 96,939 Pro�t & Loss Statement December 31, 2009 Operating Income Contributions & Donations 3,591 Membership Dues 46,208 Miscellaneous 401 Interest Income 622 Newsletter advertising 2,880 Publications 3,155 2007 Annual Advertising 2,250 Total Operating Income 59,107 Operating Costs 2007 Annual 29,805 2008 Annual 29,651 2009-10 Annual 15,000 Contract Services 8,151 Easterly Memorial Expense 2,484 Equipment 890 Rent 4,800 Utilities 1,634 Insurance 872 O�ce Expenses 2,011 Wages & Taxes 22,778 Printing 12,408 Total Operating Costs 130,485 Net Operating Income (Loss) -71,377 Other Activities Ebay Auction Income 3,265 Ebay Auction Costs 1,233 Ebay Auction Income (Loss) 2,032 Symposium Income 57,367 Symposium Costs 35,569 Symposium Income (Loss) 21,798 Net FY 2009 Pro�t (Loss) -47,548 The Daguerreian Society Newsletter "!January - March 2010 11
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