For contemporary views from similar perspectives (left/right inverted):
Forum Romanum:
https://9c1d5bb2cec44b59d59e-370828801dee5c40ac1b0964a2ad0bbc.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/71/9/large.jpg
Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net//wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Main-Entrance-to-Church-of-the-Holy-Sepulchre-300x200.jpg
San Pancrazio Church, Tarquinia:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6185/6102455258_00d9377499_b.jpg
Khayrbak Mosque:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36338186@N05/3853497776
Couldn't find the girl smoking the waterpipe, unfortunately!
39
Dagguerre did not in 1839 "unveil[ed] the world’s first practical camera," he introduced the first practical photographic process. The innovation was chemical, not optical.
35
Thanks NYT for a lovely article that is a welcome relief from the depressing political and social news. Beautiful photos - would love to see the exhibit.
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I love looking at these old, 19th century photos from the earliest days of photography. They give one views into a century and places therefrom (both familiar and unusual) that engage one's curiosity. At times, I wonder about the lives of people featured in these photos because they don't feel so remote when I scrutinize them. Pouring over coffee table sized photo books -- what a lovely way to spend a morning or late afternoon!
34
Fascinating and beautiful. I would love to see the exhibit. Will there be a book or exhibition catalog?
21
I found the catalog for sale on the Met's website. Listing says there are more than 200 illustrations.
38
Really wonderful, well worth your time.
22
These are glorious. Book, please.
36
@Phyliss Dalmatian: seconded...need the book. Abrams, Taschen, DK...are you listening?
11
Looks like a fascinating exhibit. I have to see it! BTW, most daguerrotype images are reversed, which can make locating buildings in context a challenging mental exercise.
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@Ken Lanfear
Indeed... I know Rome very well, and there was definitely something wrong with that first picture... But once I flipped it left to right, everything fell back into place!
12
@Ken Lanfear
... as I believe the image Church of the Holy Sepulchre is. The left-side doors are the open ones. (I did not know that characteristic of daguerrotypes.)
14
Remarkable pictures. One can only wonder what viewing an early photograph felt like back then. Maybe something equivalent today, would be a hologram. I read a book not too long ago on early photography and Louis Daguerre, and I was surprised that they technically had the process in the 1790's, early 1800's, and took images of people back then, but the chemistry needed to catch up to preserve the image.
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