Article - The Daguerreian Society

available for viewing online. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/daghtml/
dagabt.html The Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections
Division include photographic broadsides. The Newspaper
and Current Periodicals Division has many newspapers
from the daguerreian era. Genealogical materials in the
Local History and General Collections can help researchers
studying photographer’s and sitter’s names, not to mention all
of the electronic databases that are available to researchers
on site.
L.W. How does someone go about using these
resources?
C.J. Researchers must obtain a Library of Congress Reader
Identification Card before using the Library’s resources.
To obtain the card, patrons must first complete an online
application and submit proof of identity and address.
The Daguerreian Society Newsletter
u January–April 2008
Article
Figure 4 John Plumbe (United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.) Half-plate daguerreotype, ca. 1846. Purchase, 1972.
Note: As the earliest surviving photograph of the Capitol, this daguerreotype shows the Capitol with its old coppersheathed
wooden dome.
L.W. Are there daguerreotypists represented in the collection
that may be of particular interest to our members?
C.J. Rufus Anson, J. P. Ball, Mathew Brady, Robert Cornelius
(Figure 2), Josiah Johnson Hawes (Figure 3), John Plumbe
Jr., Augustus Washington, and Jesse Whitehurst to name
a few.
L.W. Do one or two stand out?
C.J. Given the Library’s mission, John Plumbe’s
daguerreotypes of the Capitol (Figure 4) and White House
rate highly. They are technically superb and fascinating to
look at. Some of my favorites are by unknown makers,
such as the portrait of Lt. Montgomery C. Meigs’ children
(Figure 5).
L.W. What are the requirements for someone who wants to
use photographs or materials from the Library of Congress
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