Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791–1872) is one of the most inspiring and intriguing figures of early American history. To the general public, he is most widely recognized as the inventor of the telegraph and Morse code. However, he is also recognized as playing a pivotal role in the early history of photography in the United States.
Having studied classical liberal arts at Yale, which he entered at the age of 14, and painting at the Royal Academy in London, Morse had a deep appreciation for the visual arts. His inquisitive and artistic background made him especially receptive to new image-making technologies, and it was this openness that led to his early adoption and promotion of the daguerreotype process.
In 1838, Morse traveled to Paris to pursue a patent for his telegraph invention and to observe scientific advances in Europe firsthand. While in Paris, he moved within intellectual and aristocratic circles and attended sessions at the Institute de France. In January 1839, he witnessed firsthand the announcement of Louis Daguerre’s photographic process at the French Academy of Sciences. Shortly thereafter, on March 7, 1839, Morse met Daguerre personally at Daguerre’s home and learned the mechanics of the daguerreotype process. Although the full details of the process were not yet published, Morse gleaned enough information from Daguerre and his associates to begin his own experiments.
As Sarah Kate Gillespie notes in her book, The Early American Daguerreotype, “Despite his initial fears that the daguerreotype would divert attention from his telegraph, Morse instantly recognized that its marriage of the visual with the technological would be revolutionary, and he embraced its possibilities.”
Upon returning to New York in late April, 1839, Morse enlisted his brother to publish a series of articles about the daguerreotype in his newspaper, The New York Observer. Morse became one of the first Americans to construct a daguerreotype camera and produce results. From his diaries and the writings of others, it is known that he made numerous outdoor views of buildings in New York. Unfortunately, none of these have survived or surfaced.
The ninth-plate portrait in the Maillet Collection, along with another slightly later, more polished portrait in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, are the only two extant works by Morse known to exist. The top-hinged case and paper mat, along with a somewhat soft-focus figure, are hallmarks of this early experimentation, dating the work to the fall of 1839.
In early 1840, Morse opened a daguerreotype portrait studio in New York with John William Draper. Morse began offering instruction in daguerreotypy from his studio in the University Building in Washington Square. Among his many students was Mathew Brady, who would later gain fame for his portraits of American politicians and his documentation of the Civil War. Jeremiah Gurney, another of Morse’s students, became one of the leading portrait daguerreotypists in New York and established a successful studio. Morse remained a fierce champion of the new imaging technology, influencing a generation of photographers that extended well-beyond the New York area.
Although Morse soon redirected his energies to the development and promotion of the telegraph, his brief but influential involvement with the daguerreotype helped shape the foundations of American photography. His advocacy, teaching, and partnership with scientific minds like Draper established Morse as a critical link between European photographic innovation and its practical development in the United States.