Monday, April 22, 2013

Luminous Louis


Courtesy of the Library of Congress


Louis Daguerre pioneered photography - and his first experiment came to fruition (approximatively) on this date, lo, 175 years ago! (In 1838 to be exact - not 1839 as noted on the graphic above!)

It was only fair that the first snapshots bore his name, for a while: they were called daguerreotypes and they marked history as the first visual transcription of places and faces that truly spread out into wide usage - given that one could afford it, of course, as they were the first commercially successful photographic process! (Daguerre-o-types, really: avoid ''daguerreo'' turns there - these are not Oreos, for crying out loud!)

Here's to you, Luminous Louis - a true trendsetter and avant-gardiste if there ever was one worthy of those attributions...!





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