Mar
16

Today in Smithsonian History: March 16, 1888

Samuel B. Morse’s daguerreotype equipment. (Image via Information Technology and Society Division, National Museum of American History)

March 16, 1888 Smithsonian photographer Thomas William Smillie purchases the first item for the History of Photography collection, a daguerrotype apparatus used by Samuel F. B. Morse, one of America’s first photographic enthusiasts.

Thomas William Smilie's (1843-1917) 1888 image of Samuel F. B. Morse's daguerreotype equipment. Via Smithsonian Institution Archives

Thomas William Smilie’s (1843-1917) 1888 image of Samuel F. B. Morse’s daguerreotype equipment. Via Smithsonian Institution Archives


Posted: 16 March 2019
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