November 8, 2014

Oldest photo of human being

Have you seen this photo? I think it's marvelous. The image was photographed in Paris in 1838! How do ya like them apples? I mean, jeebus, that was 180 years ago. And get this: it was taken by Louis Daguerre, yes, as in "daguerreotype". That guy.

Look at the man in the photo (he's at bottom-left in the larger photo; for a better view, see the blown-up inset below). He seems to be getting his shoes shined. I love the lyrical stance of the fellow. The sprightly way he's holding his body tells me he's a sophisticated man-about-town in 1838. It's a bit like having a telescope that allows you to view the past. To me, this is such a striking scene.


Pretty cool, no?

Image: Wikipedia Commons via Mashable

4 comments:

Anna Guess Pick said...

"like having a telescope that allows you to view the past" - yes, what a wonderful way to describe it.

Way Cool!!!!

writenow said...

Hi Annie. Thanks for the comment. BTW, I just republished this post with better versions of the image. They'd been saved as jpg's by too many people so I went back to the original source. It looks better and I like the little guy even more. K

Anna Guess Pick said...

It is a super photo and isn't technology great. I mean to be able to capture an image like that from so long ago.

When I scan my old family photos I am amazed how goo then come out and that is with simple equipment and a rather lazy 'operator'. What professional can do boggles the mind.

There is so much captured in that photo you could look at it for days.

writenow said...

Agreed. And I think you are going to capture the image from long ago. You gave us a hint on your blog this morning.