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ZACHARY TAYLOR & MILLARD FILLMORE INAUGURATION DAGUERREOTYPE
I PURCHASED THIS DAGUERREOTYPE PHOTO BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE IMAGE OF THE MAN IN THE CHAIR LOOKED FAMILIAR. IT WAS AN INTERESTING OLD DAG AND WHEN WE RECEIVED IT I LOOKED CLOSELY AT THE MAN IN THE CHAIR AND COULD SEE IT HAD SOME MAJOR TOUCH - UP WORK DONE TO HIS MOUTH AREA , NOSE , AND CHEEK AREAS. FOR BEING SUCH AN OLD PHOTO , I CONCLUDED THE PHOTOGRAPHER MUST HAVE BEEN AN EXPERT FOR THE TIME PERIOD. I THEN TOOK A LOOK AT THE MAN STANDING AND REALIZED THAT HE LOOKED FAMILIAR , EVEN MORE THAN THE MAN IN THE CHAIR. I SEEMED TO HAVE SEEN HIM RECENTLY AND THEN IT CAME TO ME. THE MAN STANDING LOOKED LIKE MILLARD FILLMORE OUR 13TH PRESIDENT. I HAD JUST SEEN HIM ON A HISTORY DETECTIVE SHOW ON PBS. I DID SOME QUICK RESEARCH AND SURE ENOUGH IT IS HIM. I WONDERED WHY THE PRESIDENT WAS STANDING BEHIND AND TO THE SIDE OF THE GUY IN THE CHAIR. WELL EVIDENTLY HE WASN'T THE PRESIDENT WHEN THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN . WELL I LEARNED HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT TO ZACHARY TAYLOR AND AFTER SOME INTENSIVE PHOTO ENHANCING TO SEE WHAT I COULD THROUGH THE TOUCH UP WORK ON THE MAN IN THE CHAIR THE TRUTH CAME OUT. THIS WAS A PHOTO OF PRESIDENT ZACHARY TAYLOR AND VICE PRESIDENT MILLARD FILLMORE. THEN THE QUESTIONS CAME. WHEN WAS IT TAKEN ? WHO TOOK IT? I RESEARCHED AND RESEARCHED EVERYTHING I COULD ABOUT THESE TWO MEN. THEY DID NOT MEET UNTIL THE INAUGURATION. THE MEETING DID NOT GO WELL. THEY BASICALLY COULD NOT STAND EACH OTHER AND SINCE TAYLOR WAS THE PRESIDENT HE QUICKLY HAD FILLMORE ASSIGNED TO SENATE DUTY AND OUT OF HIS SIGHT. WELL THAT ELIMINATED THE PHOTO BEING TAKEN DURING DINNER AT THE FILLMORE'S. I FOUND A PHOTOGRAPH OF A NEWSPAPER PICTURE OF THE INAUGURATION OF TAYLOR AND THE CLOTHES HE IS WEARING IN THE NEWSPAPER PICTURE MATCHES UP TO OUR PHOTO. THE WEATHER THAT DAY OF MARCH 5, 1849 WAS COLD WITH SNOW. IT STARTED SNOWING MORE TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE INAUGURAL BALL . I CONTACTED THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AFTER I CAME UP WITH NO INFO ON THIS PHOTOGRAPH ON THE NET. THEY HAD NOTHING EITHER. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS DAGUERREOTYPE PHOTOGRAPH IS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE ON THEIR INAUGURATION DAY. PRESIDENT WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON WAS ALSO A WHIG PARTY PRESIDENT AND HAD HIS PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON HIS INAUGURATION DAY IN MARCH OF 1841 , BUT THAT PHOTOGRAPH HAS NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE AROUND WHEN IT WAS TAKEN AND IS CONSIDERED LOST. WITH REGARDS TO AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPH HISTORY, THIS PHOTO IS:.
1. THE EARLIEST VIEWABLE PHOTO OF A PRESIDENT ON HIS INAUGURATION DAY.
2. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF A PRESIDENT AND HIS VICE PRESIDENT ON THEIR INAUGURATION DAY..
3. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF TWO PRESIDENTS IN A PHOTOGRAPH . TAYLOR THE 12TH AND FILLMORE THE 13TH.
4. IT WOULD BE THE SECOND PHOTOGRAPH OF A WHIG PARTY PRESIDENT IN OFFICE.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY AND MORE RESEARCH WILL BE DONE AND INFORMATION ADDED .
WE ALSO LEARNED THAT MUCH OF TAYLORS PAPERS WERE EITHER LOST OR DISPERSED WHEN U.S. UNION TROOPS RANSACKED THE TAYLOR FAMILY PLANTATION DURING THE CIVIL WAR. HIS SON WAS A CONFEDERATE OFFICER I BELIEVE. TAYLORS DAUGHTER MARRIED CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS BUT SHE DIED SOON AFTER THE MARRIAGE. I BELIEVE THAT TAYLOR WAS ANTI SLAVERY BUT FILLMORE WAS MORE OR LESS PRO SLAVERY OR DID NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
I THINK THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BEFORE OR DURING THE INAUGURATION BALL ON MARCH 5TH 1849. BY THE TIME THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS PRESENTED TO TAYLOR , TOUCH -UPS COMPLETED ETC..., FILLMORE HAD BEEN SENT TO THE SENATE AND TAYLOR EITHER DECLINED TO KEEP THE PHOTO OR KEPT IT PRIVATELY . I DOUBT HE WANTED A PICTURE OF HIMSELF WITH A MAN HE COULD NOT STAND TO BE SHOWN TO PEOPLE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.LEARN MORE ABOUT ZACHARY TAYLOR AND MILLARD FILLMORE AT THE LINKS BELOW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zachary_Taylor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_Fillmore
OUR TAYLOR COMPARED WITH BRADY'S PHOTOGRAPH
BRADY ALSO TOUCHED UP TAYLORS IMAGE AROUND THE MOUTH .
FILLMORE [ IMAGE REVERSED ] COMPARED TO LATER IMAGE FROM BRADY. NOTICE THE LONG SCAR OR LINE ABOVE THE EYE THAT IS VERY EVIDENT IN THE BRADY PHOTO AND EVEN THOUGH OUR DAG IS TOUCHED UP IN THAT AREA THE SCAR IS CLEARLY SEEN. MOUTH, CHIN , NOSE , EYES, IDENTICAL.
BRADY'S PHOTO OF FILLMORE AFTER HE WAS IN OFFICE
THIS IS AN EARLIER DAG PHOTO OF TAYLOR. HE HAD A ROUGH FACE FROM A LONG MILITARY CAREER . THE HEAVY LINES THAT RUN FROM THE SIDES OF HIS NOSE DROP DOWN CLOSE TO THE EDGES OF HIS MOUTH. BOTH OUR PHOTO AND THE BRADY TOUGHED UP PHOTO EXTENDED THOSE LINES AT THE POINT WHERE THEY START TO TURN DOWN . THIS GAVE TAYLORS FACE A MORE YOUTHFUL AND FLATTERING LOOK. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT OUR PHOTO SOME OF THE FOLDS AND LINES CAN BE SEEN BENEATH THE EXTENDED MOUTH.
OUR TAYLOR IMAGE CONTRAST, BRIGHTNESS, ETC.. ADJUSTED TO SEE SOME OF THE FACE UNDER WHAT HAD BEEN TOUCHED UP. HIS MOUTH WAS WIDENED {TOO MUCH}TO COVER UP LINES AND SCARS. WE BELIEVE THIS WAS DONE TO MAKE HIM LOOK YOUNGER . EVEN BACK THEN , PEOPLE WANTED TO LOOK THEIR BEST OR IN THIS CASE YOUNGER AND MORE PRESIDENTIAL. THE COMPARED PHOTO IS OF TAYLOR WHEN HE WAS IN THE MILITARY AND YOU CAN SEE HE LOOKED LIKE A ROUGH MAN. OLD ROUGH AND READY HE WAS CALLED. HE HAD A SCAR YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PHOTO OVER HIS MOUTH . YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THAT SAME SCAR IN OUR PHOTO THAT WASNT TOTALLY COVERED UP BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER.
IMAGE OF TAYLOR IN THE MILITARY
OUR TAYLOR COMPARED TO A DRAWING OR PAINTING OF HIM.
TAYLOR HAD AN UMBRELLA DUE TO THE SNOWY WEATHER THAT EVENING.
A PICTURE OF A PAPER FROM THE TIME SHOWS TAYLOR IN HIS ATTIRE WITH TOP HAT ON THE TABLE . MATCHING OUR PHOTO EXACTLY
