1853                Address Unknown, New York, New York.[1]

1853 August 19.  Semi-Weekly Tribune.  (New York, New York.)  August 19, 1853. Vol. VIII, No. 859. P. 1.

The Exhibition At The Crystal Palace.  XVI.  American Art—Daguerreotypes.  If there be any one department in the whole building which is peculiarly American, and in which the country shines prominent, it is in that of Daguerreotypes, which are exhibited below stairs; and the collection, which is an extensive one, is made up of contributions from almost every section of the Union where the art is practiced.  In contrasting the specimens of art which are taken herewith those taken in European countries, the excellence of American pictures is evident, which is [to] be accounted for by several reasons.  In the first place, American skies are freer from fogs and clouds—from bituminous coal not being much used, the atmosphere of our cities is free from smoke, at least upon the Atlantic coasts.  Then the chemicals and processes are, generally speaking, of a more sensitive character, and the apparatus is more convenient and suitable than that of Europe.  Our little inventions come into play and aid in saving time and developing a good picture, and last, though perhaps not least our people are readier in picking up processes and acquiring the mastery of the art than our trans-Atlantic rivals.  Not that we understand the science better, but the detail of the work is acquired in a shorter time by us, while the enormous practice which our operators enjoy combines to render the daguerreotype art a necessary adjunct to the comfort of life.  Does a child start on the journey of existence and leave his “father’s hall” forthwith the little image is produced to keep his memory green..  Does the daughter accept the new duties of matron, or does the venerated parent descend into the grave; what means so ready to revive their recollection?  Does the lover or the husband go to Australia or California, and not exchange with the beloved one the image of what afforded so much delight to gaze upon?  The readiness with which a likeness may be obtained, the truthfulness of the image and the smallness of cost, render it the current pledge of friendship, and the immense number of operators who are supported by the art in this country shows how widely the love of sun-pictures is diffused.  Several thousand industrious artists and artisans are occupied in the preparation of very pure chemicals, as bromine, iodine, gold salts, hyperphosphate of soda.  Another class prepare silvered plates, cases, buffs, gilding, cut glass, and a hundred little addenda.  Then the manufacture of cameras and the grinding of good lenses is an important branch of the business; for without a camera having good lenses the best operator would fail to produce an image which would be distinct or saleable; and even with a good Voigtlander or Harrison camera, it requires great skill to focus the image; for, strange as it may appear, the point where a good view of the sitter is obtained is not the point best adapted for bringing out a good picture.  In other words the focus of vision and the focus of chemical action are not the same, and hence when we have the one we lose the other.  This is owing to the fact that it is not the rays of color on the solar spectrum which produce the image, but a different set of rays, viz: those of chemical action; and since this is the case, we submit the opinion that it is not possible to obtain a daguerreotype in its natural colors, as Mr. Hill and others have been trying to delude our operators into believing, and leading themselves and others by the [iguis fatuus] of plates tortured into iridescent colors by chemical oxidation.  But we are getting discursive upon this beautiful art, which was intended to subserve many other useful purposes than that of portrait painting.

Everybody known how difficult it is to keep silver from tarnishing, and that the action of the light is to destroy all preparations of silver.  Some of these are more readily acted on by light than others—are more sensitive, as it is termed.  Such are the iodide, bromide, and chloride of silver.  These salts cannot be kept exposed to the light for any reason, even a very short time, without undergoing some change; and when a plate of silver has a thin layer of iodine and bromine on its surface; and is placed in a camera, as soon as the screen is raised the image of the sitter falls on the plate.  The silver plate is acted on unequally, producing the effects of light and shade when brought out, as it is termed, by exposure to the vapor of quicksilver.  It is then fixed or prevented from undergoing further change, by washing it with a solution of gold.

To produce a daguerreotype picture there are five operations necessary.  The first is cleaning the plate.  This is the stumbling block of most operators.  They are not cleanly enough.  Several views in this Exhibition show that the plates were not well enough cleaned.  Never was a maxim more true than the old one, that “cleanliness is a virtue”—when it has reference to daguerreotyping.  The second the second is the foundation of the sensitive iodide of silver over the surface of the plate.  The third is the adjusting the plate in the camera obscura, for the purpose of receiving the impression.  The fourth is the bringing out the photographic picture, which is invisible when the plate is taken from the camera.  The fifth, and last, is to remove the excess of sensitive coating, and thus prevent that susceptibility to change under luminous influence which would otherwise exist and ultimately effect the picture.  The second operation is that which gives tone and warmth to the picture, and when performed by skillful hands makes a daguerreotype a beautiful piece of art.  The clearness and distinctness of the image is produced by the third process when carefully conducted, and the whole picture should be distinct over the whole plate.  These remarks will serve to illustrate the subjoined notes upon the collections in the Exhibition.

Mr. Lawrence exhibited a case in which softness of tone and distinctness of image are united with artistic arrangement.  The latter quality is specially noticeable in “The Three Ages.”  The mechanical execution of these pictures is unexcelled.  These pictures of Mr. L. were exhibited in London.  Mr. Brady’s collection is not very large, but there are a few very good pictures exhibited by him.  In Gurney’s collection the coloring of the background has a fine effect; there are some very well executed portraits, among which is one of Mr. Forrest, worth notice as a work of art: taken as a Whole there is less softness and more distinctness in this collection than in that of Lawrence.  The picture of Ware and his sister is an instance of a picture well developed when the chemical action extends to the margin of the plate.  D. Clark, New Brunswick, N. J., has four pictures of merit; and Van Schneidan a small collection of well-selected heads.  J. Brown has a collection of portraits of Commodore Perry and the officers of the squadron for the Japan Expedition, in half-size plates: the interest of this collection is much marred by the names of the officers not being attached underneath the plate; it is not too late to rectify this omission.  Haas has a whole-plate allegorical figure of a family man reading the paper at home—an excellent idea and well executed.  Besides this, he has a couple of other pictures, though on the whole his show is mediocre.  In the cases of Harrison & Hill there is displayed excellent artistic arrangement with very indifferent mechanical execution.  In the mammoth plates occupied by allegorical designs, the back-ground is wretchedly brought out—the plates were not properly cleaned, and are full of scratches; there are a few half and whole-sized pictures set in gaudy frames.

Webster, of Louisville, KY., has twenty-three pictures possessing clearness.  They have, however, been exposed a little too much in the camera; they lack warmth, but are otherwise well developed and exhibit good mechanical execution.  Alex Hesler has a collection of whole plates handsomely executed, possessing a nice arrangement of of the drapery, which has the effect of throwing the head out in good relief.  There is artistic arrangement in this collection, especially evinced in the picture “Driving a “Trade,” one of a series illustrating character and passion.  The panoramic view of Galena, Ill. Shows that city to advantage; and the three views of the Falls of St. Anthony possess great merit.  Mr. North, of Cleveland, O., has a case of pretty fail likenesses, perhaps exhibiting the lights too strongly.  Bisbee, of Dayton, O. exhibits a panoramic view of Cincinnati from Newport, upon six large plates.  This view is, without exception, the finest thing in the whole room; we might even go further, and say that it is the finest view by the Daguerreian process ever exhibited.  The mechanical execution is excellent, the perspective good, and the development unsurpassed.  The effect of the smoke over the southern part of the city is very finely given.  the distinctness of the letter signs, three-quarters of a mile distance and across the Ohio river, is well brought out.  The rest of the collection is fair, possessing no peculiar merit.  Williamson exhibits a poor collection.  Dobyn, Richardson & Co. have several whole size well-executed specimens, in which the mechanical part, the artistic arrangement and the chemical effect is good.  The “Cupid Reposing” is a very ungraceful picture of an ill-formed child, and the coloring is bad.  That of the Bateman Children, in character, is a good picture.  There are some exceedingly well executed heads in this collection.

Long, of St. Louis, has four frames of 180 heads of Wyman’s School, in that city, with the edifice and Principal; they possess no merit.  A likeness of Prof. Mitchell, Cincinnati, is well executed.  Some of the pictures in this collection are inverted with papier mache frames inlaid with mother of-pearl and tinsel.  As this style of frame appears in a few other collections we may as well here express dissent to the use of this material as being too gaudy and wholly unsuitable for daguerreotype plates. These latter are difficult to be viewed except in one light, and from the brightness of their surface, are much set off by deadened color on the frames, while the glare and iridescence of the papier mache add to the difficulty of discerning the picture; the use of such implies bad taste in the artist.  We felt this opinion growing upon us as we looked at them and found our view corroborated by a boarding school miss, who whisked alongside of us and caught by the colors, exclaimed, “Oh my! aint those “frames beautiful?”  Fitzgibbon has the richest exposition in the Fair—The most expensive frames with a large and passable collection.  The mammoth plate of Judge Colt is very good—That of Jenny Lind the best in the exhibition—those of McAllister, Julia Dean, Kate Hays, and Kossuth, are good pictures.  His collection of Indian Warriors, is a very fine one, which we understand is to be forwarded to the Ethnological Society of London, to have copies and busts made from them.  Masury & Silsbee, Boston exhibited twelve pretty and tasteful plates, with good arrangement and well finished.  The collections of Kilsey, Beals, and Howe do not require notice.  Whitehurst has a few good pictures in a large and passable collection; he has ten pictures illustrating the Falls of Niagara, which are very well executed.  Some of his large heads have their features out of all proportion.  Whipple of Boston, has a collection of photographic pictures, which he calls Crystallotypes, taken from Hyalotypes; there is a plate of the moon daguerreotyped, and one of the spots on the sun.  McDonnell & Co., Buffalo, have a very poor collection—so poor as not to deserve a place in the exhibition; the views of Niagara are fair.   Hawkins exhibits photographs on paper.  Drummond[2], eight plates of the order of Free masons in their lodge dress.  Fitzgibbon (already noticed) exhibits a very interesting case, which is a frame of electrotype copies from daguerreotype plates, very beautifully executed.  It should not be over looked upon as a mere curiosity to place a daguerreotype plate in a copper solution and take a copper cast from its surface by means of electricity: the copper cast looks much warmer in tone than the original.  It is to be regretted that Fitzgibbon did not complete this frame by the insertion of a third plate, by taking a second copy from the copper copy.  This would be in relief, like the original silver-plate, and is succeptible of being treated like an engraved plate; yielding, when inked, prints resembling mezzotint.  Besides the above collection of daguerreotypes, there is an assortment of cameras, lenses, stereoscopes and photographic paper, which are of interest to those practicing these beautiful arts.

Internet search for Alonzo J. Drummond.  Note that William Lewis Sr. had two other sons in addition to William H. Lewis. Richard A. Lewis was a prominent daguerreotypist and another son, H. J. Lewis also worked for the firm. A daughter, Jennie, married Alonzo J. Drummond, another Daguerrian photographer. Other family members of William Lewis also participated in the business. Grandsons William H. Lewis, II and Frank S. Lewis, and indent-in-law, Bradford Johnson continued various parts of the business beyond 1900.

[1] Information from The American Daguerreotype (Floyd & Marion Rinhart) & Craig’s Daguerreian Registry. 

Possible daguerrean and photoengraver, presumably from New York City.  Drummond appears in the write up but not in the official catalogue of exhibitors.  Drummond does not appear in the New York Historical Society Dictionary Of Artist In America 1504-1860.

[2] Internet search for Alonzo J. Drummond, 1850’s.  Note that William Lewis Sr. had two other sons in addition to William H. Lewis. Richard A. Lewis was a prominent daguerreotypist and another son, H. J. Lewis also worked for the firm. A daughter, Jennie, married Alonzo J. Drummond, another Daguerrian photographer. Other family members of William Lewis also participated in the business. Grandsons William H. Lewis, II and Frank S. Lewis, and indent-in-law, Bradford Johnson continued various parts of the business beyond 1900.