John Brown (c. 1846 – 1847)
Few took the cause of abolitionism to such radical extents than John Brown (1800 – 1859). West Virginia (as we call it today) was home to a town called Harpes Ferry which came under attack from Brown and his forces in October of 1859. Despite his few valiant victories, Brown was eventually defeated and faced the hangman’s noose on December 2, 1859.
The Smithsonian regards this daguerreotype as the first image of the rebel, taken by Augustus Washington, the African American photographer. You might be wondering about the flag in his hand and gesture. His hand is solemnly raised to reinforce his pledge to the constitution, which affirms that all men are supposedly born free. He is simultaneously pledging himself to ending slavery. As for the flag, it is supposedly the colors of the “Subterranean Pass Way,” which was an armed counterpart of the Underground Railroad…
John Brown
John Herschel (1867)
Astronomer and polymath Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1792 – 1871) made many invaluable contributions to the development photography, being the person to coin the term! He did not discover the technology, however. In 1867, Julia Margaret Cameron took this almost magical photograph of the master himself. Cameron was a massive fan of her subject from the time she was a child, the two becoming fast friends for more than three decades. Their companionship was rounded off with Herschel requesting this official commission from Cameron. There would be four similar photographs made of the man in April 1867. Cameron’s first was his favorite, however, as he appeared as an ‘old Paterfamilias.’
John Herschel
