Portrait of Two Sisters

Currently not on view

Portrait of Two Sisters

c. 1845-1855

William Langenheim (American (born Germany), 1807–1874) , and Frederick Langenheim (American (born Germany), 1809–1879)

In 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the invention of the daguerreotype, the first successful process for creating photographs. Within four years, brothers William and Frederick Langenheim opened a daguerreotype photographic studio in Philadelphia. Their business quickly became one of America’s most successful portrait studios.

A daguerreotype is a copper plate covered in a layer of light-sensitive silver. Once this plate was inserted into a camera, it would record a black-and-white picture in astonishingly great detail. However, the process was very slow compared to taking a picture today. The sisters shown here probably had to hold this pose for several minutes. Failure to sit perfectly still would result in a blurry image, so the people being photographed were often held in place with a head clamp or a neck brace.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Portrait of Two Sisters

Date:

c. 1845-1855

Artists:

William Langenheim (American (born Germany), 1807–1874) , and Frederick Langenheim (American (born Germany), 1809–1879)

Medium:

Daguerreotype, half plate

Dimensions:

Image (sight): 4 5/16 x 3 1/4 inches (11 x 8.3 cm) Case: 6 x 4 3/4 x 5/8 inches (15.2 x 12.1 x 1.6 cm)

Classification:

Photographs

Credit Line:

Gift of Harvey S. Shipley Miller and J. Randall Plummer

Accession Number:

2010-212-3

Geography:

Photograph taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view