William and Sophia Palmer Langenheim
ca. 1846–47
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
Image: 12.1 x 8.9 cm (4 3/4 x 3 1/2 in.) Case: 1.6 x 13.5 x 11.7 cm (5/8 x 5 5/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.219
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the dawn of photography with this intimate daguerreotype portrait of William and Sophia Palmer Langenheim, created around 1846–47 by W. & F. Langenheim—likely William himself a pioneering Philadelphia photographer, alongside his brother Frederick. Measuring just 12.1 x 8.9 cm, this tiny, mirror-like image on a silvered copper plate captures the couple in a tender, posed moment, housed in a protective case typical of the era's cherished keepsakes. The daguerreotype process, introduced in 1839, marked photography's revolutionary debut, producing exquisitely detailed, one-of-a-kind pos...
About the Artist
W. & F. Langenheim|William Langenheim (American|American, born Germany) · 1843 |1807 –1874 |1874
American, active 1843–1874|American (born Germany), Schöningen 1807–1874