Washington Monument, Baltimore, 1841

The subject of the present lot is the Washington Monument, completed and erected in Baltimore in 1829. The architect behind the colossal landmark was Robert Mills (1781–1855), who later designed the Washington Monument that sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This impressive whole plate daguerreotype, which possesses remarkable detail and clarity, may be the earliest known photograph of the monument, and one of very few daguerreotypes of Baltimore in existence (the rest of which are in institutional collections).

Henry Fitz Jr. (1808–1863) was among the first American photographers to experiment with and improve upon the daguerreotype process. Originally trained as a telescope maker, Fitz’s expertise in optics led to his collaboration with fellow inventors and photo-enthusiasts Alexander S. Wolcott and John Johnson to create the first patented camera in America. Both Fitz and Robert Cornelius have been credited with, in 1839, creating the first photographic self-portraits in America. Fitz additionally sat for some of the first successful portraits ever taken. In 1840, he went on to open America’s first photography studio in Baltimore, Maryland. Merging his expertise in optics with his passion for photography, Fitz played a key role in shaping the early photographic landscape in America.

John Plumbe Jr., born 1809 in Wales, was a railroad surveyor, author, editor, publisher and daguerreian. Notably, Plumbe established a franchise of daguerreotype studios and galleries throughout America in the 1840s. During this time, he also manufactured cameras, miniature cases, and daguerreotype plates. Towards the end of the decade, he refocused attention to publishing and promoting his galleries and in Floyd and Marion Rinhart’s The American Daguerreotype (1981), he is credited as ‘probably the greatest promoter of photography, rivaled only later by George Eastman’ (p. 406).

The largest collection of Fitz’s work is held in the collection of The National Museum of American History, Washington D.C.; other daguerreotypes by the artist are in institutional collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the International Center of Photography, New York. Other daguerreotypes by John Plumbe Jr. are in institutional collections including The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Getty Museum, Los Angeles; and The Art Institute of Chicago.