 The first photograph by Joseph Niepce in 1826. This experiment took 8 hours to expose on an asphalt plate. By the late 1830s, Niepce’s friend Louis Daguerre found a way to fix sharp images for portraits |
 Louis Daguerre announced his practical method for taking photos in 1839. He believed the discovery was so important that he put the patent in the public domain. |
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 By 1854, photographers were out in the field. This is Crimean war photographer Roger Fenton’s rig being driven by his assistant, Sparling. |
 Matthew Brady’s photo of Abraham Lincoln, widely circulated before the 1860 election. |
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 Two people stand over the bloody aftermath of the US Civil War battle of Antietam in September, 1862. Matthew Brady exhibited this photo and others only a few weeks later at his gallery, shocking New Yorkers. |
 Matthew Brady’s portrait studio, Broadway, New York, about 1850. |
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 Matthew Brady, three Confederate prisoners. |
 Matthew Brady with Gen. Ambrose Burnside (reading paper). |
Media history from Gutenberg to the Digital Age
