Giovanna M. Cucciniello
The daguerreotype, an early form of photography, was developed in France and introduced in the United States by Samuel Morse in 1839. Using light sensitized metal plates and a camera obscura, it was possible to capture the reflected image. This new form of art was able to capture expressions of reality that were unseen in American art. For example, the popularity of the daguerreotype is revealed in the numerous portraits that were taken by daguerreotypists, at least one per town and often traveling, wielding their trade.
The development of glass negatives in the 1850’s allowed for sharper and more stable images and the printing of several positive images from the same negative. As the United States embarked on a new era of social and economic change fueled by technological advances, photographers were there to record as best they could.
In the early 1900’s, photographs and photographers began to influence government social policy. Photographers began “documenting” what they saw with photographs. Many of the photographs were taken by Lewis W. Hine.
