The Silver Canvas - Daguerrotype Masterpieces (Art Photography Ebook)

T H E S I L V E R C A N V A S
3. Letter of March 8,1792, reproduced in "The Writings
of George Washington Relating to the National Capital,"
Records of the Columbia Historical Society 17,1914.
4. Although described in newspaper accounts of 1846,
no actual examples of these key works were known until
the early 19605, when this daguerreotype of the Capitol
was purchased in a shop in Massachusetts. It remained in
a private collection until auctioned on October 5,1995.
A cache of other views by Plumbe of public buildings
was found in a California flea market in 1971, six of which
were purchased by the Library of Congress. Another view
of the Capitol similar to this one but showing less of the
surrounding area, was purchased by the Connecticut collector,
Matthew R. Isenburg.
For a personal account of the flea market discovery
and later identification of the daguerreotypes see Mike
Kessler, "Once in a Lifetime: The True Story of the
Plumbe Daguerreotypes," The Photographist no. 99
(Fall 1993): 10-22.
The Library of Congress daguerreotypes (which
include a frontal view of the Capitol) are reproduced
and discussed in Alan Fern and Milton Kaplan, "John
Plumbe, Jr., and the First Architectural Photographs of
the Nations Capitol," The Quarterly Journal of the Library
of Congress 31 (January 1974): 3-20. The Isenburg view of
the Capitol is reproduced and discussed in Richard Field
and Robin Jaffee Frank, American Daguerreotypes from the
Matthew R. Isenburg Collection (New Haven: Yale University
Art Gallery, 1989).
5. Announcements of Plumbe s views of public buildings
were given in The National Intelligencer (January 28,
1846): ^; The United States Journal (January 29,1846): 2;
Daily Times [Washington] (February 20,1846): 2.
The reference in The United States Journal (January 29,
1846): 2 to "sets" being offered by Plumbe has led to
speculation that he intended to reproduce these views
by the process he called "Plumbeotype," which scholars
believe is no different from a lithograph. He began publishing
"Plumbeotypes" in 1846 or 1847, but examples
of them are extraordinarily rare, suggesting it was not a
profitable venture. Of the thirty prints known to exist,
only two deal with architectural subjects, one a view
of the Washington Monument in Baltimore, the other a
view of the Capitol directly from the east, seen at ground
level, which corresponds to the Plumbe daguerreotype in
the Library of Congress. It is a sketchy rendition without
detail and could have been made without depending upon
a daguerreotype as other similar views already existed in
lithograph form. The most complete treatment of the
Plumbeotype is found in Alan Fern "John Plumbe and
the 'Plumbeotype/ " Philadelphia Printmaking: American
Prints before 1860 (West Chester, Pennsylvania: Tinicum
Press, 1976), 149-164.
Plate 70
6. An overall history of the grist mill is given in John
Storck and Walter Dorwin Teague, Flour for Man's Bread
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1952).
7. Although there is no indication of the physical location
of this mill either on the plate or on the label pinned to
the interior of the case, the family name Calkins points to
a New England location. According to the 1850 national
census, that family name was found in Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island,
and even New York; its presence in any of the southern
states was limited to four individuals.
8. John J. Farrell, ed., James K. Polk: 1795-1849 (Dobbs Ferry,
New York: Oceana Publications, 1970), 26.
Plate 72
9. Discussions with many architectural historians led to
no identification of this particular house, whose idiosyncratic
style defies easy classification. All believed the location
to be in the mid-Atlantic area; several believed it to
be the site of the business of a nurseryman. For all their
musings we are particularly indebted to Ford Peatross and
Denys Peter Myers.
10. Both Margot Gayle, of the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture,
and Barbara Rotundo, a historic-cemetery consultant,
examined the cast iron fence but were not able to
identify it specifically for date or location of manufacture.
Plates 73 and 74
11. The Photographic Art-Journal 2 (October 1851): 253.
12. The date of these two images has been determined
by the location of Vance s studio given on the case. We
appreciate Peter E. Palmquist s help in matters relating to
Vance. See also his articles "Western Photographers, II:
Robert Vance: Pioneer in Western Landscape Photography,"
American West 18 (September-October 1981): 22-27
and "Robert H. Vance: Pioneer Photographer," The Argonaut
8 (Spring 1997): 1-36.
13. The mining camp took its name from the creek, which
was variously spelled as Rancheree, Ranchoree, or Rancherie.
See Edwin G. Gudde, California Gold Camps (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1975).
Plate 75
14. We are grateful to Matthew R. Isenburg for showing
us original stock certificates from gold mining companies,
one of which is illustrated with a view of the
entire mining operation, beginning with a depiction of
a trestle high in the mountains, much like the one in
this daguerreotype. It was issued by the Bear River &
Auburn Water & Mining Company, which was capitalized
in 1851 at $650,000.
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