A remark by the French photographic historian Pierre-Georges Harmant is appropriate:
In this study I have confined myself simply to looking through the press of 1839 . . . and that is something that is not found in the manuals on the history of photography. The little that we have said is probably nothing compared with what has been forgotten. It would take one man alone years of research, and I should always be very grateful for information about anything that has appeared in any document anywhere dealing with photography in 1839 . . .
— Pierre G. Harmant, "Anno Lucis 1839," Camera (Luzern) (May 1960): 24–31. (http://www.marillier.nom.fr/collodions/PGH/menu.html)
2 January 1839 Le Drapeau Tricolore (Chalon-sur-Saône) Ewer archive: N8390018 |
author name: Alfred Letellier text title: "Le Daguerréotype" notes: One of the earliest announcements concerning the daguerreotype. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Joseph Nicéphore Niepce, Alfred Letellier |
08 January 1839 Journal des Débats (Paris) Ewer archive: P8390036 |
notes: A day-after report from the Académie des Sciences. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Jean-Baptiste Biot, François Arago |
12 January 1839 Literary Gazette (London) Ewer archive: P8390008 |
author name: Hippolyte Gaucheraud text title: "The Daguerotype" [sic] notes: Perhaps the earliest English-language announcement concerning the daguerreotype. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, Hippolyte Gaucheraud |
19 January 1839 Literary Gazette (London) Ewer archive: P8390031 |
text title: "The Daguerotype" [sic] notes: Two texts copied from French newspapers including a report of the 7 January 1839 communication by Arago to the French Academy of Sciences. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Jean-Baptiste Biot, François Arago, Paul Delaroche |
February 1839 Railway Magazine (London) Ewer archive: P8390013 |
text title: "Fixation of Images" notes: Early notice of Daguerre's invention. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago, Jean-Baptiste Biot |
February 1839 Journal des Demoiselles (Paris) Ewer archive: P8390014 |
notes: Early notice of the daguerreotype drawn in part from an article by M. Jules Pelletan in La Press. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, M. Jules Pelletan |
February 1839 Journal of the American Institute (New York) Ewer archive: P8390001 |
text title: "Chemical and Optical Discovery" notes: This account is derived from the Parisian newspaper Constitutionnel and is one of four texts (known to this editor) appearing in US press in February 1839. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago, Jean-Baptiste Biot, Constitutionnel |
2 February 1839 Literary Gazette (London) Ewer archive: P8390017 |
text title: "The New Art" notes: A text of some length discussing both Daguerre's invention and Talbot's invention. The article includes the full text of Talbot's 30 January 1839 letter to the Gazette. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Dagueroscope [ Daguerroscope], Thomas Wedgewood, Sir Humphry Davy, François Arago, Jean-Baptiste Biot |
21 February 1839 Times (London) Ewer archive: N8390005 |
author name: "Clericus" notes: Brief, curious text indicating early photographic actvities. The author assigns the term "lucigraphs" to his productions. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Clericus, lucigraph, lucigraphs |
23 February 1839 Boston Daily Advertiser Ewer archive: N8390007 |
text title: "Remarkable Invention" notes: Derived from the Parisian publication Journal des Debats, this is one of four texts (known to this editor) appearing in US press in February 1839. See also the 21 March 1839 Catholic Telegraph (P8390020) for a fuller version derived from the same source text. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Jean-Baptiste Biot, François Arago, Journal des Debats |
26 February 1839 Boston Mercantile Journal Ewer archive: N8390006 |
text title: "Extraordinary Chemical and Optical Discovery" notes: This summary of the Parisian newspaper, Constitutionnel, is one of four texts (known to this editor) appearing in US press in February 1839. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago, Constitutionnel |
March 1839 Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (Edinburgh, London) Ewer archive: P8390016 |
text title: "New Discovery—Engraving, and Burnett's Cartoons." notes: This important text discusses the ramifictaions of photography upon the fine and applied arts, as well as discussing both Talbot's paper photography and Daguerre's productions upon metal plates. Portions of this text are from the 2 February 1839 Literary Gazette. keywords: William Henry Fox Talbot, Humphry Davy, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Dagueroscope [Daguerroscope], François Arago, Jean-Baptiste Biot, John Burnet |
March 1839 Museum of Foreign Literature (Philadelphia) Ewer archive: P8390003 |
text title: "Self-Operating Processes of Fine Art" notes: Although date details are not yet confirmed by this editor, this text may be citing the 2 February 1839 Spectator (London). keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago, Charles Bouton, Paris diorama |
March 1839 Le Globe (Paris) Ewer archive: P8390030 |
author name: De Tournay text title: "Prédictions pour l’an Dix-Huit Cent Trente-Neuf" notes: The poem, set to an air, includes a stanza regarding Daguerre and his "genius effect really new." keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre |
15 March 1839 Art-Union (London) Ewer archive: P8390033 |
text title: "Sun-Painting" notes: An article discussing the issue of priority of invention. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Desmaret, Nicephore Niépce, Charles |
21 March 1839 Catholic Telegraph (Cincinnati) Ewer archive: P8390020 |
notes: A fuller version of the 8 January 1839 Journal des Debats text than is provided in the 23 February 1839 Boston Daily Advertiser (N8390007). keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago ,Journal des Debats |
30 March 1839 Expositor (New York) Ewer archive: P8390019 |
text title: "The Daguerrotype" [sic] notes: Translated from a foreign source, the article extolls Daguerre's achievement. A variant of this text also appears in the 6 April 1839 Albion. (N8390011) keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Daguerrotype |
April 1839 Aldine Magazine (London) Ewer archive: N8390029 |
text title: "Destruction of the French Diorama" notes: An article regarding the 8 March 1839 fire that destroyed Daguerre's Diorama. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Diorama |
April 1839 Foreign Quarterly Review (London) Ewer archive: P8390025 |
text title: "Photogenic Drawings" notes: A lengthy discussion of various individuals, their experiments and their achievements. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Thomas Wedgewood, François Arago, Humphrey Davy, William Henry Fox Talbot, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, Francis Bauer, William Havell and/or Frederick James Havell,James Tibbitts Willmore, Jean-Baptiste Biot |
April 1839 Railway Magazine (London) Ewer archive: P8390012 |
text title: "Daguerre’s Photogenic Paper, and Fixation of Images" notes: Discusses Daguerre's paper process. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, photogenic paper, Jean-Baptiste Biot |
6 April 1839 Albion (New York) Ewer archive: N8390011 |
text title: "The Daguerrotype" [sic] notes: Translated from a foreign source, the article extolls Daguerre's achievement. A variant of this text also appears in the 30 March 1839 Expositor. (P8390019) keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre |
13 April 1839 Corsair (New York) Ewer archive: P8390015 |
text title: "Pencil of Nature—A New Discovery" notes: One of first texts of length appearing in Americans press. Derived from the March 1839 Blackwood's Edingburgh Magazine. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, William Henry Fox Talbot, dagueroscope [Daguerroscope] |
20 April 1839 New-York Observer Ewer archive: N8390002 |
author name: Samuel F. B. Morse text title: "The Daguerrotipe" [sic] notes: One of three texts written by Americans who visited Daguerre in 1839 and saw examples of the daguerreotype. Morse's visit with Daguerre occurred on 7 March 1839. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Robert Walsh, Jr., Samuel F. B. Morse, Benjamin Silliman, Paris diorama |
20 April 1839 New-Yorker Ewer archive: N8390002 |
text title: "New Discovery in the Fine Arts—The Daguerroscope" [sic] notes: Derived from the March 1839 Blackwood's Edingburgh Magazine. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, François Arago, Jean-Baptiste Biot, Daguerroscope |
22 May 1839 New-York American Ewer archive: N8390003 |
author name: Robert Walsh, Jr. notes: One of three texts written by Americans who visited Daguerre in 1839 and saw examples of the daguerreotype. Walsh's visit with Daguerre occurred on 3 March 1839. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Robert Walsh, Jr., François Arago, William Henry Fox Talbot, daguerreotype, Paris diorama |
15 June 1839 Medical Examiner (Philadelphia) Ewer archive: N8390001 |
author name: Dr. Richard Harlan notes: One of three texts written by Americans who visited Daguerre in 1839 and saw examples of the daguerreotype. The likely date of the visit was Tuesday, 5 March 1839. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Dr. Richard Harlan, Robert Walsh, Jr., François Arago, Samuel F. B. Morse, Nicephore Niépce, Paris diorama |
July 1839 Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal Ewer archive: P8390027 |
author name: Sir John Robison text title: "Notes on Daguerre's Photography" notes: An important text from one of a group of Englishmen who visited Daguerre. The likely date of the visit was 17 May 1839. keywords: Sir John Robison, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre |
11 July 1839 Times (London) Ewer archive: N8390008 |
notes: A brief text regarding the exhibition of Daguerre's specimens to the Chamber of Deputies (7 July and 8 July 1839). keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, Chamber of Deputies |
20 July 1839 Mirror (London) Ewer archive: P8390005 |
notes: A text regarding the exhibition of Daguerre's specimens to the Chamber of Deputies (7 July and 8 July 1839). (Cites the English-language Parisian newspaper, Galignani's Messenger.) keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Chamber of Deputies |
20 July 1839 New-York Mirror Ewer archive: N8390009 |
text title: "Letter from an Idle Merchant" notes: A text of fantasy indicative of the sort of speculations regarding the yet-undisclosed invention. keywords: daguerroscope, dagueroscope |
27 July 1839 Christian Register (Boston) Ewer archive: N8390019 |
text title: "The Daguerrotype, or Solar Engraving" notes: An article discussing Daguerre, Niépce, and the use of photographic plates for engraving. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, Francis Bauer |
20 August 1839 Galignani’s Messenger (Paris) Ewer archive: N8390015 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype" notes: From an English-language newspaper published in Paris, this is one of the primary accounts describing Arago's 19 August 1839 discloure of Daguerre's process. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago |
23 August 1839 Globe and Traveller (London) Ewer archive: N8390014 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype" notes: Copied from Galignani's Messenger, this is one of the primary accounts describing Arago's 19 August 1839 discloure of Daguerre's process. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago, Globe account |
24 August 1839 Literary Gazette (London) Ewer archive: P8390006 |
text title: "The Daguerre Secret" notes: One of primary accounts describing Arago's 19 August 1839 discloure of Daguerre's process. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago, Alexandre Dumas, Alphonse Giroux |
24 August 1839 Athenaeum (London) Ewer archive: P8390007 |
text title: "Principle of the Daguerreotype" notes: One of the primary accounts describing Arago's 19 August 1839 discloure of Daguerre's process. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago, Alexandre Dumas, John Herschel, Alphonse Giroux, Journal des Débats |
7 September 1839 Botanico-Medical Recorder (Columbus) Ewer archive: P8390026 |
text title: "The Pencil of Nature" notes: Mentions the photogenic experiments (and success) of Professor John Locke of Cincinnati. keywords: "Deguerre," William Henry Fox Talbot, Daguerroscope, Professor Locke, John Locke, Mr. Flash’s book store |
14 September 1839 Literary Gazette (London) Ewer archive: P8390032 |
text title: "Fine Arts: The Daguerrotype" notes: A discussion of the use of varnish as a protective coating for the daguerreotype. keywords: Alexandre Dumas, Charles Chevalier, Susse Frères, Alphonse Giroux, varnish |
23 September 1839 New-York Evening Post Ewer archive: N8390013 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype" notes: Perhaps the first US press reprint of the 23 August 1839 London Globe account which was widely reprinted in the US press. keywords: Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago, Globe account |
25 September 1839 United States Gazette (Philadelphia) Ewer archive: N8390017 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype Explained" notes: A summary of the process (as announced 19 August 1839) by Alexander Dallas Bache of Philadelphia. keywords: William Henry Fox Talbot, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Joseph Nicéphore Niepce |
28 September 1839 Nile's National Register (Washington, D.C.) Ewer archive: N8390012 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype" notes: One of first US press reprints of the 23 August 1839 London Globe account. keywords: Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, Nicephore Niépce, François Arago, Globe account |
October 1839 Court and Lady’s Magazine (London) Ewer archive: P8390002 |
author name: "B. S." (in fact, Jules Janin) text title: "La Daguerreotype" notes: While appearing October 1839, this long, effusive text was written in January. The writer also provides a vivid description of the Diorama. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, Paris Diorama, Alexandre Dumas, B.S., Jules Janin |
15 October 1839 Art-Union (London) Ewer archive: P8390034 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype in London" notes: A brief mention of the activities of St. Croix and J. T. Cooper in London as well as mentioning Daguerre's claim of patent rights in England. keywords: St. Croix, J. T. Cooper, patent |
19 October 1839 Mirror (London) Ewer archive: P8390011 |
text title: "M. Daguerre's Process of Engraving" notes: A brief description of Daguerre's process, also mentions the early activities of St. Croix and J. T. Cooper in London. keywords: Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, J. T. Cooper, St. Croix |
26 October 1839 La Mode (Paris) Ewer archive: P8390009 |
text title: "Caricature de La Mode" notes: A brief text accompanying a caricature lithograph illustration of daguerreotypist, man with his head held in a vise, concerned woman keywords: Daguerrotrappe, J. Platier, Jules Platier |
November 1839 London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine Ewer archive: P8390028 |
author name: John T. Towson text title: "On the Proper Focus for the Daguerreotype" notes: A discussion of light rays, lens composition, and lens focus related to the taking of daguerreotypes. keywords: John T. Towson, Robert Hunt, “great desideratum” |
2 November 1839 New-Yorker Ewer archive: N8390016 |
text title: "The Daguerreotype" notes: A notice of the demonstration of the process in London by the Frenchman, de St. Croix. keywords: De St. Croix |
29 November 1839 (manuscript) Ewer archive: S8390001 |
author name: François Fauvel Gouraud notes: The invitation issued by François Gouraud for a private showing in New York of the daguerreotypes brought with him from France. keywords: François Gouraud, William Sidney Mount |
December 1839 Knickerbocker (New York) Ewer archive: P8390004 |
author name: Lewis Gaylord Clark notes: A review of Gouraud's New York exhibition of daguerreotypes written by the publication's editor. keywords: Lewis Gaylord Clark, François Gouraud |
4 December 1839 (manuscript) Ewer archive: M8390001 |
author name: Philip Hone notes: Hone's diary entry describing Gouraud's New York exhibition of daguerreotypes. keywords: Philip Hone, François Gouraud, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre |
7 December 1839 Albion (New York) Ewer archive: N8390010 |
author name: Dr. John S. Bartlett notes: A review of Gouraud's New York exhibition of daguerreotypes written by the publication's editor, Dr. John S. Bartlett. keywords: John S. Bartlett, François Gouraud, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre |