St. Anthony Falls
Artist
Unknown
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1852
MediumSixth plate daguerreotype
DimensionsOverall, Image: 2 3/4 x 3 in. (7 x 7.6 cm)
Overall: 3 1/8 x 3 3/4 in. (7.9 x 9.5 cm)
Overall: 3 1/8 x 3 3/4 in. (7.9 x 9.5 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Horace W. Goldsmith and Art Purchase Funds
Object number95.39.1
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a sixth plate daguerreotype.Label TextUnknown American St. Anthony Falls, ca. 1852 Daguerreotype Purchase, Horace W. Goldsmith and Art Purchase Funds 95.39.1 This view looking east shows St. Anthony Falls with the town of St. Anthony, now part of Minneapolis. The building on the left advertises iron and steel, stove- and tinware, and books. The falls of St. Anthony and Minnehaha are in close proximity, and in a well-documented journey Alexander Hesler (1823-1895) daguerreotyped both on August 12, 1852. Assisted by Joel Emmons Whitney, Hesler first photographed at St. Anthony Falls, then at Minnehaha. Although we cannot be certain, it is quite possible that this daguerreotype was made by Hesler on that trip. During the two decades that the daguerreotype reigned as the preferred method of photography in America, millions were produced. Its success was due in large part to its accuracy in recording a subject. By far the most widespread use of the daguerreotype was portraiture. People flocked to the studios to have their likenesses recorded by the new process. This gave rise to an era of affordable portraiture and a new occupation, that of the daguerreotypist. The daguerreotypist's trade was a commercial venture - people paid money to receive a photographic portrait. This business took place inside a studio where all of the necessary equipment was close at hand. On special occasions a daguerreotypist might be employed to make an outdoor image. Usually this would commemorate the construction or acquisition of something such as a new building, factory, or horse and buggy. Thus, outdoor daguerreotypes are rare. Rarer still is the daguerreotype of landscape. With no utilitarian purpose, the artistic landscape or scenic daguerreotype held little commercial value for the 19th-century American. Daguerreian studios routinely included galleries to exhibit examples of the proprietor's work. The present work could have been made for that purpose or for one of the businesses depicted in the scene. Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25,1996 - March 2, 1997
