{"id":131312,"date":"2015-12-08T12:33:34","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T17:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=131312"},"modified":"2020-05-07T12:24:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T16:24:07","slug":"early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Douglass daguerreotype on display"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k33G-67FlwI\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Late last week, University of Rochester researchers returned to the River Campus from the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With them they brought one of the earliest known images of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the most photographed American of the 19th century.<\/p>\n<p>Only this wasn\u2019t any photograph; it was a daguerreotype, the world\u2019s first successful photographic medium. Roughly the size of a standard playing card, the daguerreotype of Douglass is remarkably well preserved and shows him in semi-profile.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_131332\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-131332\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-131332 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/douglass-daguerreotype1.jpg\" alt=\"man unveiling a daguerreotype\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-131332\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ralph Wiegandt, a visiting research scientist and conservator at the University, reveals a daguerreotype of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, on loan from the Chester County Historical Society in Pennsylvania, in the Seward Room in Rush Rhees Library. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of the nine known surviving daguerreotypes of Douglass, the earliest were allegedly taken in 1841 and 1843. According to notes from Albert Cook Myers, a Pennsylvanian historian, this 1848 portrait was a gift from Douglass to social reformer Susan B. Anthony. Anthony\u2019s niece Lucy then gave it to Myers. Today it is part of the Albert Cook Myers Collection at the Chester County Historical Society.<\/p>\n<p>Some recently published research indicates this image might have been taken in New York City in May 1848. This was just five months after Douglass\u2019 move to Rochester to begin publishing his abolitionist newspaper <em>The North Star<\/em>. It was also only two months before the Seneca Falls Convention for women\u2019s rights, where Douglass was one of the few men in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>The iconic daguerreotype is on display in the Rush Rhees Library\u2019s Plutzik Room through February 29, 2016, along with a related exhibition titled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.library.rochester.edu\/node\/36532\"><em>Researching the Daguerreotype at the University of Rochester<\/em><\/a>. The exhibition\u2014set up in the library entrance\u2014explores the history, process, impact, and University-related research efforts surrounding the daguerreotype.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the period of hosting this daguerreotype, that will be celebrated as a homecoming, we hope to learn and validate its history as well as contribute to the long-term preservation of this national treasure,\u201d says Ralph Wiegandt, a visiting research scientist and conservator at the University.<\/p>\n<p>Wiegandt works closely with Professor of Physics Nicholas Bigelow on researching the <a href=\"http:\/\/rochester.edu\/college\/nod\/index.html\">nanoscience of daguerreotypes<\/a>. As Bigelow explains, \u201cThe opportunity to use the powerful nano science tools of the University nano center and our extensive experience to study the object offers us a unique opportunity to contribute to understanding who made the image and when, and to ensure its conservation for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_131342\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-131342\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-131342 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/douglass-daguerreotype2.jpg\" alt=\"daguereotype of Frederick Douglass\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-131342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In applying spectroscopy, digital scanning, and forensic analysis, the researchers aim to further historical knowledge while aiding conservation efforts. For example, this particular daguerreotype could provide a baseline to use when analyzing other daguerreotypes that were made at the same time, by the same person, or using the same process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe point of our work is, we hope, to help corroborate what the historical record says,\u201d explains Wiegandt. \u201cBut first we have to do the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Interested in learning more? Join University researchers for a special event:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/calendar\/?event&amp;id=1032267&amp;from=14December2015&amp;to=14December2015\">Presentation: Scientific Advances Surrounding Daguerreotype<br \/>\n<\/a>Monday, December 14<br \/>\n7-8 p.m.<br \/>\nFree and open to the public, with parking available in Library Lot.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the earliest images of the 19th-century abolitionist is on loan at the River Campus Libraries through February. While here, the 1848 portrait will feature in a larger exhibition about the University&#8217;s work on researching and preserving daguerreotypes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":131322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[18612,27352,326,4276,37822],"class_list":["post-131312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-tech","tag-announcements","tag-frederick-douglass","tag-river-campus-libraries","tag-susan-b-anthony","tag-urnano"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Early Douglass daguerreotype on display<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Early Douglass daguerreotype on display\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the earliest images of the 19th-century abolitionist is on loan at the River Campus Libraries through February. While here, the 1848 portrait will feature in a larger exhibition about the University&#039;s work on researching and preserving daguerreotypes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-08T17:33:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-07T16:24:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/fea-douglass-daguerreotype.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sofia Tokar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sofia Tokar\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sofia Tokar\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6e2aecfd2d62aca26a6a82e0f0153199\"},\"headline\":\"Early Douglass daguerreotype on display\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-08T17:33:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-07T16:24:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":546,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/early-douglass-daguerreotype-on-display-131312\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/fea-douglass-daguerreotype.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"announcements\",\"Frederick Douglass\",\"River Campus Libraries\",\"Susan B. 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