historical western photos

 This is the earliest photograph in our collection.  . It is a daguerreotype of Elisha Johnson 1785-1866.  He was one of the first inhabitants of Rochester New York having moved there in 1817. He was an engineer and railroad man and was involved in many projects in that part of New York and in Tennessee  . He also knew Hiram  Silbey who founded Western Union Telegraph Co.   Silby had move to Rochester in 1838 when Johnson was the town Mayor.  Silby attented St. Pauls church which was built be Johnson. Johnson moved to Portageville New York to be closer to the work he was doing on the Genesee Valley Canal in 1839. There he built Hornby Lodge.  This Dag is circa 1840 based on Johnson's clothing, case style, and the blue gray image color found on very early Daguerreotypes.  The mat is made of a thick paper.

Samuel Morse , who was an American Co- inventor of the single wire telegraph and inventor of the Morse code,  had been in Paris in 1839 and had a meeting with Daguerre  .   Morse returned to America with knowledge he had learned from Daguerre about producing Daguerreotype photographs. He started making Daguerreotype photographs in late 1839 onward. 

 The interesting fact is that Hiram Sibley partnered up with Morse in 1840.  Morse started making Daguerreotypes with Drapper in 1840 at the University of the City of New York . He also continued making Dags at his brothers Newspaper after working with Draper..  This area was the cradle of American Daguerreotype photography ..

The link is strong between this Daguerreotype of Elisha Johnson and  Samuel Morse thru the common aquaintance of Hiram Sibley. There were not many people in the area doing Daguerreotype photography in 1840 . We added one of the earliest American photographs made by Robert Cornelius in 1839 for comparison of the color of very early Dag images.

Color comparison of early American Dag made by Robert Cornelius in 1839 and our Dag circa 1840

Our image shows Johnson with a Phi Beta Kappa key on his belt. This is the earliest photograph we know of with a person displaying a Phi Beta Kappa key. He attended Williams College for 1 or 2 years and they did not have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa until 1864. He would have had to recieve an honorary membership to the Society.   

Below is the only image of Johnson we could find which is circa 1860's.

The comparison video between these two images show that each man was born with a Cleft Pallet. No doubt the same man.

Below are some images of the unusual early flip top Dag case. It opens from the bottom like a jewelry case and not like a book. There is no decoration on the case other than some intersecting lines.