1846-1847       Pennsylvania Avenue, next door to the U. S. Hotel, Washington, D. C.

Van Loan & Chase were recorded in two Advertisements and four announcements, one advertisement and two announcements in The Daily Union (Washington, D. C.) and one advertisement and two announcements in The National Whig (Washington, D. C.)  The first advertisement ran from December 19, 1846 to February 8, 1847 in The Daily Union (Washington, D. C.)  Van Loan & Chase, From New York And Philadelphia.  Daguerreotype Rooms.  Admittance free.  Next door to the United States Hotel.  Pictures taken in any kind of weather, clear, cloudy, or rainy, from 9 o’clock, a. m., till 5 o’clock, p. m.               

The first announcement appeared in The Daily Union (Washington, D. C.) on December 31, 1846.  We would call the attention of citizens and strangers to the daguerreotype establishment of Messrs. Van Loan & Chase, next door to the United States Hotel.

The second advertisement ran from April 30 to June 1, 1847 in The National Whig (Washington, D. C.)  Van Loan & Chase, From New York And Philadelphia.  Daguerreotype Rooms.  Admittance Fee—next door to the U. S. Hotel.

Pictures taken in any kind of weather, clear, cloudy, or rainy, from 9 o’clock, a. m. till 5 o’clock p. m.. Washington, 1847.  april 14.

The second announcement appeared on May 26, 1847 in The Daily Union (Washington, D. C.)  A Chinese Painting.  To the Editor of the Union.  Sir:  I request a small space in your valuable paper whilst I employ it in inviting the attention of the regular artists, the amateur, and the curious, to the inspection of an extraordinary and beautifully executed painting—the genuine production of a Chinaman by the name of Sunqua.  The picture, five feet in length and two-and-a-half in breadth, may be seen at the Daguerreotype rooms of Mr. Van Loan, next door to the United States Hotel, Washington City. This picture represents the town of Canton in the Celestial Empire….

The third announcement appeared on June 9, 1847 in The National Whig (Washington, D. C.) Washington As It Is.  June, 1847, Pennsylvania Avenue.  No. II.

Crossing Third street, westwardly, westwardly, on the North side of Pennsylvania avenue…Next Door westward of the United States Hotel is a spacious and lofty building belonging to John Donoho, at present partly occupied by Van Loan & Chase’s admirable Daguerrean rooms.

The fourth announcement appeared on September 28, 1847 in The Daily Union (Washington, D. C.)  We are indebted to Messrs. Brooke, Shillington, & Co., of this city, for a “View of the Battle of Buena Vista,” published by H. R. Robinson….We are also presented with a fine lithographic portrait of Col. Charles May, from a daguerreotype of Van Loan & Co., of this city.  This is also published by Mr. Robinson of New York….

Van Loan & Chase are not recorded in other photographic directories.  While their first names are not recorded in the announcements or advertisements other photographic directories may shed light into who they may be.  The advertisement reads “Van Loan & Chase, From New York & Philadelphia.”  Based on the order in the advertisement Van Loan would be from New York and Chase from Philadelphia.  To date the only Van Loan working in New York City would be Matthew D. Van Loan while Samuel Van Loan is active in Philadelphia, there is no record of him being active in New York.  Further research on a genealogy site revealed the following.  He was reared in [Catskill, N. Y.] and educated in the common schools. In 1841 he went to New York City and opened a daguerreotype studio, being the first man in the United States to make a business of producing portraits by the new process. He continued taking pictures for ten years in New York, and from there went to Philadelphia and later to Washington, engaging in the same business. Subsequently and up to the time of his death, in 1856, he was employed in the custom-house in San Francisco.   While Chase is a common name, it is possibly he is Theodore L. Chase who was active in Philadelphia in 1846-1847.