Talk:Robert Cornelius

First photograph of a human?

The picture on this page of Robert Cornelius may not be the first photograph of a human. A more likely candidate is the anonymous figure having their boots polished in "Boulevard Du Temple" taken in late 1838 or early 1839 by Louis Daguerre. Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boulevard_du_Temple.jpg Shoebill2 (talk) 11:48, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

It is one of the first photographs of a human, but it is the first photographic portrait of a human. 72.196.146.129 (talk) 07:32, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

No. There is still dispute about this claim of Cornelius producing the 'first' portrait. Hippolyte Bayard on 24th of June, 1839 exhibited photographs, copies of ones taken before that date, since his process, like the daguerreotype, produced only the image from the camera. As Beaumont Newhall notes, these included at least one portrait. See; Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.); Newhall, Beaumont, 1908- (1937), Photography 1839-1937 : with an introduction by Beaumont Newhall, The Museum, p. 39, 102{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link). There is no exact month given for the Cornelius self-portrait of (perhaps October) 1839, so the claim for Cornelius cannot be verified.Jamesmcardle^(talk) 11:11, 12 March 2019 (UTC)

There are more claims to the first portrait photo. However, most of them, like Cornelius, cannot be verified. Not all of them are considered satisfactory portraits. Here are some of these claims:

• Portrait of "M. Huet" (likely Constant Huet), believed to be one of the portrait tests made by Louis Daguerre in 1837. The image survives. See: https://journals.openedition.org/etudesphotographiques/299 http://www.niepce-daguerre.com/portrait_de_Mr_Huet.htmlhttps://imagesociale.fr/5016https://theconversation.com/lhistoire-meconnue-du-premier-portrait-photographique-92938
• Noël Lerebours and Susse, who in a November 1839 manual published the earliest advice on how to make portrait daguerreotypes. The earliest portrait made by Susse may have been as early as September 1839. Photographer Marc Gaudin described a portrait made by Susse, which he says was the first daguerreotype portrait he ever saw. François Gouraud wrote in early 1840 that Susse was one of the very first to make portraits. Gouraud also claimed that Parisians in every quarter were making portraits within fifteen days of the publication of the daguerreotype (i.e. by early September 1839). In The Origins of Photography Helmut Gernsheim writes that an undated, small daguerreotype portrait of a man held at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris may be one of the earliest daguerreotype portraits taken in France, but the museum does not acknowledge this fact. See: Gernsheim, H. (1968). L. J. M. Daguerre: The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype. Dover Publications, Inc. p. 116-117. "Manner of Making Portraits by the Daguerreotype". Boston Daily Advertiser. 26 March 1840. Gernsheim, H. (1982) The Origins of Photography. Thames and Hudson. p. 84-88.
• Abel Rendu is credited by François Gouraud to have made "portraits of men and women with the eyes open executed in the most satisfactory manner," with an exposure time of one to one and a half minutes, before Gouraud's departure for America in October 1839. Rendu was not impressed with his results, because they lacked “the positively mathematical perfection which M. Daguerre required.” The images made by Rendu are not known to have survived. See: "Manner of Making Portraits by the Daguerreotype". Boston Daily Advertiser. 26 March 1840. Newhall, B. (1976). The Daguerreotype In America. Dover Publications, Inc. p. 35.
• A daguerreotype portrait held at the George Eastman House was made in 1839, according to historian Gabriel Cromer. See: https://collections.eastman.org/objects/6984/man?ctx=b394b832-6256-413d-a456-b5ba57ee9310&idx=5
• A September 1839 daguerreotype of a young girl in Liege, Belgium, made by Auguste Florenville and Adrien Wittert. The exposure time lasted 7 minutes at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The image is not known to have survived. See: https://www.academia.edu/26827315/The_Thirty_Niners_in_Belgium_Pioneers_of_Photography?auto=download
• A group of daguerreotypes believed to have been made by John William Draper at New York University between late September and early October 1839. One of them is speculated to be Drapers first portrait of William Henry Goode made on 22 or 23 September 1839. Draper claimed to have made a portrait with the Talbotype process in Spring 1839, which turned out as a silhouette, which is not known to have survived. See: https://www.historybroker.com/light/web/light.htm
• Samuel Morse's daguerreotypes of his daughter and her friends on a rooftop, said to have been made in late September or early October 1839. Exposure time about 10-20 minutes. Two engravings based on these portraits survive. In the engravings the image was cropped in and the background and even one of the subjects was removed. Root, M. (1864). The Camera and the Pencil. D. Appleton & Co. p. 347. Lossing, B. (March 1873). Professor Morse and the Telegraph. Scribner's Monthly Magazine. 5: 584
• An American profile portrait, speculated to have been made between October 1839 and early 1840. It is said to be the earliest daguerreotype profile portrait. Image survives. See: https://finedags.com/dating-very-early-american-daguerreotypes/
• Marcellin Jobard's daguerreotype of a woman sleeping on a sofa from October 1839. The image is not known to have survived. See: Stapp, W. (1983). Robert Cornelius - portraits from the dawn of Photography. National Portrait Gallery. p. 43.
• Alexander Wolcott's tiny 3/8 inch (9mm) daguerreotype of John Johnson standing against a window, made on 6 or 7 October 1839. The image is not known to have survived. See: Johnson, J. (1851). "Daguerreotype". The Daguerreian Journal. 2 (2). Gernsheim, H. (1968). L. J. M. Daguerre: The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype. Dover Publications, Inc. p. 134.
• The daguerreotype portrait of a lady presented by Alfred Donné to the Académie des Sciences on 14 October 1839. The image is not known to have survived. See: Gernsheim, H. (1968). L. J. M. Daguerre: The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype. Dover Publications, Inc. p. 116-117.
• A Philadelphian portrait of Ezra Otis Kendall, made in October or November 1839, probably described by Marcus Root in 1864 as "the earliest daguerreotype portrait from life." The image is not known to have survived. See: Stapp, W. (1983). Robert Cornelius - portraits from the dawn of Photography. National Portrait Gallery. p. 43.
• A group portrait of Count Karel Chotek with his family and friends in Munich, according to diary entries made on 3 or 4 November 1839. Possibly made by Carl von Steinheil. One of the two images survives. See: http://www.scheufler.cz/cs-CZ/fotohistorie/cteni-fotografii,nejstarsi-fotograficky-portret-skupiny,2.html
• Louis Daguerre's self-portrait, "said to be excellent," mentioned in a letter to William Talbot dated 2 November 1839. The image is not known to have survived. See: http://foxtalbot.dmu.ac.uk/letters/transcriptName.php?bcode=Lubb-JW&pageNumber=38&pageTotal=42&referringPage=1

Some of Hippolyte Bayard's portrait tests, presumably from Summer 1839, have resurfaced at Société française de photographie. However, most of the pictures were poorly focused, so only in one image can the facial features of Bayard be barely distinguished. https://histoirevisuelle.fr/cv/icones/2865/ Cesias7 (talk) 09:38, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

File:RobertCornelius.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:RobertCornelius.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on March 1, 2017. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2017-03-01. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 01:14, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Picture of the day

Robert Cornelius (1809–1893) was an American photography pioneer and lamp manufacturer. Cornelius began working with his father in silver plating and metal polishing in 1832. A meeting with Joseph Saxton drew him to photography. Cornelius used his knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy to perfect the daguerreotype. Around October 1839, Cornelius took this portrait of himself, the oldest known existing photographic portrait of a human in America.Photograph: Robert Cornelius