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2024 Symposium Schedule of Events
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
10 am-4 pm – Registration packet pickup at the InterContinental hotel, Yaupon Room, 7th floor
THURSDAY, OCT. 17
9 am-4 pm – Behind-the-scenes institution tours
11 am-9 pm – Self-guided tour of "A History of Photography" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
6 pm-7pm – Cocktail reception, MFAH, Isabel Brown Wilson Boardroom
Complimentary Hotel Shuttle: The Intercontinental Hotel has a complimentary shuttle on a first-come, first-served basis that serves a two-mile range, which the MFAH falls within. The shuttle hours are from 7 am-9:00 pm daily.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
9:15 am-9:45 am – Danish & coffee before speaker presentations at the MFAH. Enter the same door as for entering the Symposium (map included in registration packet). Go down to the lower level lobby, right below the Wyatt Theater, where the Symposium will be held.
9:45 am-4:00 pm – Speaker presentations at the MFAH, Wyatt Theater (no food or drinks allowed in theater)
12:00-1:30 pm – Group daguerreotype immediately following the morning session and lunch (on your own)
4:00 pm – Business meeting, MFAH, Wyatt Theater
4:30 pm – Close (or soon after)
7:00 pm-10 pm – Modern daguerreotypes show and discussion at the Intercontinental, Yaupon Room, 7th floor. Artists expected to attend include Jerry Spagnoli, Ken Nelson, John Hurlock, Grant Romer, HengLi Ge, Allen Phillips, Casey Waters, Francesco Fragomeni, Marc Gomme, Anton Orlov, Anja Brown, and Dr. Mike Robinson
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
9 am-4pm – Photo Fair (opens to registrants at 9 am, 10 am for the public)
6:00-7:00 pm – Cocktail Reception, Intercontinental Hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
7:00 pm – Banquet, Intercontinental Hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
8:00 pm (approx.) – Silent & Live Auctions, Intercontinental Hotel, Live Oak Ballroom, 7th floor
The Daguerreian Society is pleased to announce its lineup of expert talks for the 2024 Symposium & Photo Fair in Houston.
On Friday, October 18, a diverse group of authorities will share insights on their areas of expertise in richly illustrated presentations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – host institution of this year’s conference.
Here’s a quick roundup of the talks and presenters. More detailed descriptions will appear in the next Daguerreian Society Quarterly, due out later this month.
“The New Art: Treasures from the William L. Schaeffer Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art” by Jeff Rosenheim Drawn from William L. Schaeffer Collection of American photographs, this presentation will trace the first 70 years of the medium’s evolution from its birth through the first decade of the 20th century. Major works by acknowledged early masters such as Josiah Johnson Hawes, John Moran, Carleton Watkins, and Alice Austen will share the stage with equally impressive photographs made by more obscure or unknown practitioners. The talk will explore the nation’s shifting sense of self, driven by the immediate success of photography as a cultural, commercial, artistic, and psychological preoccupation. Especially noteworthy are the many photographs by small-scale studios, early practitioners, and intrepid amateurs that reveal their ingenuity, aesthetic ambition, and lasting achievement.
Jeff L. Rosenheim is the Joyce F. Menschel Curator in Charge of the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a DS member.
* * *
“A Daguerreian Excursion to Mexico City (Nov-Dec 2022)” by Grant and Ariadna Romer In December of 2022, Grant and Ariadna Romer travelled to Mexico City intending to attempt recreating making of the first photographs of Mexico. They will give an account of the discovery and identification of seven whole-plate daguerreotypes in the collection of the George Eastman Museum, possibly made as early as December 1839. As a demonstration of the practical aspects of the initial process of Daguerre, they constructed a reproduction of the Giroux camera, researched the locations from which the daguerreotypes were made, and successfully captured the subjects as they appear today. In so doing they discovered much which clarifies the challenges of First Photography and the reasons for the choice of subject.
Grant B. Romer is recognized as a world authority on early photography, particularly the history, practice and conservation of the daguerreotype. A Scholar in Residence at George Eastman House, he is cofounder of the Academy of Archaic Imaging and a researcher, consultant, lecturer, and DS member.
Ariadna Romer is cofounder of the Academy of Archaic Imaging, a faculty member in the Educational Program for the Conservation of Photographic Heritage in Mexico and Uruguay, an Associated Member of the Appraisers Association of America, specialized in Rare and Fine Photographs appraisals, and a DS member.
“Paris 1863 – The 1st Photo-Illustrated Dog Show Catalog” by Brian Duggan In May 1863, two Parisian societies put on a scientific exhibition of dog breeds in the Zoological Gardens. Invitations were sent out all over France and an astonishing 850 were selected for the seven-day exhibition. Noted portrait and animal photographer Léon Crémière was contracted to produce a 60-page catalog of the top dogs. Each page was fixed with an albumen photograph of a prize winner – each being described with hand-written notes about type classification, breed, name, owner, and their award. Crémière was adept at capturing these dogs and his techniques foreshadowed those used by today’s dog show photographers. The catalog of the 1863 Parisian Dog Exhibition is arguably the first photographic inventory of 19th-century dog breeds.
Brian Patrick Duggan is a canine historian/image collector, the author of multiple books, and a DS member.
“The Tumultuous Career of George S. Cook” by Bob Zeller No 19th-century photographer had a more tumultuous or fascinating career than George S. Cook. From the early 1840s to the 1890s – from daguerreotypes to dry plate glass negatives – Cook experienced a lifetime behind the camera in Charleston, S.C., and Richmond, Va. unlike any of his fellow contemporaries. This talk will bring Cook’s career alive like never before from his photographs, which includes the world’s first combat action photo, as well as his daily account books from the Civil War, which document how Cook maintained a thriving business while under bombardment during the conflict.
Bob Zeller, a writer, historian, and DS member, is co-founder and president of The Center for Civil War Photography.
“Rinhart Collection: ‘When This You See, Remember Me’” by Kate Shannon Kate Shannon’s exploration of the Floyd and Marion Rinhart Collection at Ohio State University culminated in a public exhibition on campus last April. Titled “When This You See, Remember Me,” the exhibition featured cased daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintype portraits from the collection, providing a glimpse into American life during the 19th century and the infancy of photography. While curating the exhibition, she was interested in the mysteries surrounding the mostly anonymous subjects and the physicality of the objects, marked by deterioration, erasures, and small personal effects added to the cases. These qualities prompted her to reflect on early photography as an enigmatic, tangible medium for preserving the human experience.
Kate Shannon is an associate professor of art at The Ohio State University Mansfield and a DS member.
“Cars in Tintypes” by Robert Caldwell The first glimpse many people got of the automobile was at tintype studios. By the 1880s, tintypes were produced at resorts, carnivals, galleries, fairs, and expos. People out for a family stroll along boardwalks, seashores, and other areas would walk into a gallery. They would leave with an inexpensive keepsake of the day, one that might include an automobile. Multiple automobile technologies raced to become the dominant propulsion system -- steam, electric, and gasoline -- and tintypes were there to record it.
Robert Caldwell is a collector, historian, and DS member.
“Daguerreotypes and Portraits of ‘Kit’ Carson” by Neil David MacDonald This talk will examine known portraiture of Christopher “Kit” Carson, famed American frontiersman, scout to Col. John C. Frémont, and U.S. Army officer. Images from the Civil War period back to the Daguerreian era will be discussed. In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake destroyed what was thought to be the only known daguerreotype of him. The talk will also describe the thrilling adventures and photo-detective work involved in the recent remarkable discovery of three relational half-plate daguerreotypes.
Neil David MacDonald is a fully accredited dealer and appraiser specializing in photography, rare books, and fine art. He serves as a consultant for Canada Book Auctions in Toronto and is a DS member.
“The Future of Collecting – A Panel Discussion” by Wes Cowan, Malcolm Daniel, Len Walle, Bob Zeller, and Ron Coddington The collecting world has changed dramatically in recent decades. Digital transformation. Social media. Artificial intelligence. Generational shifts. Record-setting prices. How have these changes impacted collecting 19th-century photography? Will these images we hold dear remain relevant in the 21st century?
Wes Cowan is an auctioneer, vice president of The Daguerreian Society, cohost of the long-running PBS series “History Detectives,” and a familiar face on the popular PBS series “Antiques Roadshow.” Malcolm Daniel is the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and a DS member. Len Walle is a charter DS member, past president, and longtime collector. Bob Zeller, a writer, historian, and DS member, is co-founder and president of The Center for Civil War Photography. Ron Coddington (moderator) is editor & publisher of Military Images magazine and a DS board member.
Members can take advantage of the early-bird discount on tickets, which ends September 17. To register for the Oct. 17-19 Symposium & Photo Fair, click here.
The Daguerreian Society is excited to announce the details of its exclusive, behind-the-scenes institution visits being offered at this year’s Symposium & Photo Fair in Houston.
The private briefings, which provide access to rarely seen institutional images and other holdings, are always a highlight of the annual gathering.
All of this year’s curator-led tours will be offered on Thursday, October 17 – the first day of the three-day Symposium.
Online sign-up will begin at noon ET on Saturday, September 14, via the Society website and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
To access the sign-up form once it goes live, go to the home page, scroll down to “Latest News & Events” and look for the “Upcoming Society Events” area, where one registers for the Symposium & Photo Fair. Then click the link titled “2024 Symposium Behind-the-Scenes Tours” (it is not yet live).
To sign up, members and others must already be registered for the Symposium. So be sure to register before September 14 and take advantage of the early-bird (discounted) ticket price, which ends on September 17.
A code required to register for the tours will be emailed to all Symposium registrants the day before the sign-up opens.
Symposium attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for two tours as well as a curated briefing of a 19th-century photography exhibit at the San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield. San Jacinto, the site of the famous battle where Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, is roughly a 30-minute car ride from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this year's host institution.
In addition, registrants will be able to go on a self-guided tour of the MFAH’s permanent collection galleries at their leisure, throughout the Symposium. The MFAH’s permanent galleries include a particularly rich selection of early American, British, and French photographs.
Curated Behind-the-Scenes Institution Visits
Tour 1 | Treasures of 19th-Century PhotographyMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON Tour 1A | 11:15 amTour 1B | 1:00 pm Tour 1C | 3:00 pm Tour 1D | 2:00 pm (added on 9/18)
Description: MFAH photography curator and longtime member Malcolm Daniel will bring out some of the museum’s treasures of 19th-century photography for a close-up look and discussion in the Anne Wilkes Tucker Photography Study Center. Works on view will include:
In addition, there will be paper prints on view by:
Duration: 50 minutes Group size: Up to 20 people per session Instructions: Meet in the lobby of the Audrey Jones Beck Building 5 minutes before start of program
Tour 2 | American Art GalleriesMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON 2:00 pm
Description: Christine Gervais, MFAH Curator of Decorative Arts, will lead a tour of the American Art galleries focused especially on 19th-century painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. These galleries showcase the collection in an installation that draws particular attention to broader stories of class, gender, and race, to reveal both connections and conflicts between artists and styles in an effort to offer a more complete and nuanced picture of American art. This tour does not include photography, except for one or two items, but will appeal to those whose love of the 19th century is broader than photography.
Duration: 50 minutes Group size: Up to 25 people Instructions: Meet in the lobby of the Audrey Jones Beck Building 5 minutes before start of program
Tour 3 | Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON2:00 pm
Raquel Carrera, co-curator of the exhibition and now a curatorial associate in the Museum’s Department of Latin American Art, will lead a tour of this special exhibition. Drawn from the Museum’s collection and celebrating the gift and purchase of some 300 works from the Chicago collectors Madeleine and Harvey Plonsker, the exhibition traces the evolution of the medium in Cuba from the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 through the 2010s. The exhibition is particularly rich in the years following the early 1990s collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent “Special Period” of economic hardship in Cuba, a time during which artists turned inward, exploring Afro-Cuban traditions, the body, and issues of memory and identity. This tour is not about the 19th century, but will appeal to those whose love of photography is broader than the 19th century.
Duration: 50 minutes Group size: Up to 30 people Instructions: Meet at the exhibition entrance on the third floor of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Tour 4 | The Nau Civil War Collection LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED Tour 4A | 1:30 pm Tour 4B | 2:30 pm
Description: Interested since childhood in the Civil War, Houstonian John L. Nau III formed one of the largest private collections of Civil War documents, photographs, weapons, and artifacts in the country, now largely housed at the Nau Center for Civil War History at his alma mater, the University of Virginia. Part of the collection remains in Houston, however, and Sally Anne Schmidt, curator of the Nau collection, will speak about the collection before turning participants loose to closely examine photographic works – primarily ambrotypes and tintypes – one on one.
Duration: 45 minutes Group size: Up to 20 people per sessionInstructions: Address will be provided to participants (approximately a 15-minute drive from the MFAH). Meet at the address at least 5 minutes before the start of the program. Parking information will be provided
Tour 5 | Special Exhibit of Early Texas PhotographsSAN JACINTO MUSEUM AND BATTLEFIELDTour 5A | 9:00-9:30 am Tour 5B | 9:30-10:00 amTour 5C | 10:00-10:30 amTour 5D | 10:30-11:00 amTour 5E | 1:00-1:30 pmTour 5F | 1:30-2:00 pmTour 5G | 2:00-2:30 pmTour 5H | 2:30-3:00 pmTour 5I | 3:00-3:30 pmTour 5J | 3:30-4:00 pm
Local member Curt Robbins, a sponsor of this year's Symposium, has partnered with the San Jacinto Museum to create a special exhibit of 19th-century images drawn from his and the Museum's extensive collections. The exhibit will comprise over 200 images, including 45 daguerreotypes, 35 ambrotypes, 33 tintypes, and the rest early prints – with many related to Texas history, made by Texas photographers or likely taken in Texas. There will also be four to six special groupings of images from Texas families and ephemera from Texas photographers.
In addition to the special exhibit, admission to the Museum will cover all of its venues and attractions, including:
At 2:45 pm, a tour van that can seat 14 people will tour the battleground where Houston captured Santa Anna.
Duration: 30 minutes for the special exhibit private tours Group size: Up to 15 people per session Instructions: Discounted admission ($10) with Daguerreian Society badge
NOTE: The San Jacinto Museum is 24 miles from the MFAH, about a 30-minute drive, traffic permitting. Traffic can be heavy throughout the day. Directions here.
Self-guided Tour
A History of Photography MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTONOpen during all Museum hours Thursday, 11 am-9 pm
Description: Visit the Photography Department’s permanent collection galleries on your own or with friends. In recognition of the Daguerreian Society’s visit to Houston, this display includes a particularly rich selection of American, British, and French photographs from the first 50 years of the medium, including numerous photographically illustrated books such as:
Daguerreotypes from the collection will be shown in the Study Center sessions listed above.
Duration: Unlimited (self-guided) Group size: Unlimited Instructions: On the second floor of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Only registrants with Daguerreian Society badges will be admitted to the tours or have access to the museums. Badges will be included in the Symposium registration packets, which will be available for pickup at the InterContinental Houston hotel on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 16 and 17, from 10 am to 4 pm.
If you have any questions about the tours or signing up for them, please contact Cindy Motzenbecker at motz48073@yahoo.com.
For questions about the Symposium, please contact Diane Filippi at info@daguerreiansociety.org.
To celebrate the artistry of our shared passion and engage in a little old-fashioned show and tell, this year's Symposium & Photo Fair in Houston will include a segment dedicated to members' favorites. Selected "member favs" will be featured in a slide show during a prime slot on Friday, October 18.
Each chosen entry will include an image and quote from the owner explaining why it is meaningful.
Favs can be any form of 19th-century photograph – daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, albumens, etc. What's more, they can be either recent acquisitions or long-held treasures.
Entering is quick and easy. Simply fill out this form: https://forms.gle/CPuo7hyqpor3RUb18.
Submit as many images as you like. Selected favs will be unveiled at the Symposium. Others may appear in our publications or through our social media.
This call for entries is open to all current Society members.
Questions? Contact Ron Coddington at militaryimages@gmail.com.
As a special free event at this year’s Daguerreian Society Symposium in Houston, daguerreian artists will gather on Friday evening, October 18, to show and discuss their work with conference attendees and any member who would like to attend.
The event, from 7 pm to 11 pm at the InterContinental Houston (Yaupon Room), will feature modern daguerreotypes created using authentic 19th-century techniques. All attendees and members are welcome to share images and bring questions. Some modern daguerreotypes will be available for purchase.
“Collectors, teachers, and historians will have a chance to talk with makers of daguerreotypes to better understand daguerreotype materials and, of course, see great modern images,” said Society President Dr. Mike Robinson, one of the organizers.
In addition to Robinson, other 21st-century artists expected to attend include Jerry Spagnoli, Ken Nelson, John Hurlock, and Grant Romer.
It has been over a decade since the Society has organized an in-person gathering like this, Robinson said.
“People new to the process will have an opportunity to discuss all aspects of modern daguerreotype making and the artistry that goes into it with experienced makers who have craft knowledge that can add to the appreciation of historic images.”
If you’re a daguerreian artist and planning to attend, please let Robinson know at mike@centurydarkroom.com. The more, the merrier!
Members may access the latest Quarterly from the Quarterly and Newsletter Archive page in the site's members-only section. The "compact" version is suitable for reading on screen or printing at home. The "print-quality" version is much larger and designed for high-quality printing.
Inside this issue...
Plans for the 2024 Daguerreian Society Symposium & Photo Fair in Houston Oct. 17-19 are shaping up nicely. Now is the time to start making arrangements. Here’s what you need to know:
Members are also encouraged to register for the conference early. Registration is now available through our website here.
Member dealers can purchase a center table for $200 or a wall table $250.
Visit the Symposium & Photo Fair page for further details!
Have a story to tell? Your fellow members want to hear it!
Propose a talk for The Daguerreian Society Symposium, Oct. 17-19 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Based on member comments from previous Symposiums, there’s interest in a wide range of topics, including:
Please keep in mind:
To submit your idea for a Symposium presentation, email a summary, estimated running time, and 3 to 5 sample images to diane_dagsoc@comcast.net.
See you in Houston!
As reported in the latest Daguerreian Society Quarterly, Board Member Carlos Vertanessian and the graphic designer Fabio Massolo have created a new poster to promote the Society and inspire appreciation of early photographic images and technologies.
The poster features a dazzling display of 19th-century photographs and early photographic literature, drawn from Carlos’s own collection and those of several other Society members.
Two high-resolution versions of the poster are available for free download and self-printing.
A3 version - 11.7 x 16.5 inches / 297 x 420 mmA4 version - 8.3 x 11.7 inches / 210 x 297 mm
To print at home, download the A4 version and select “fit to paper” in the settings under “scale.”
To print on A3 or Tabloid/Ledger paper at a copy center such as FedEx, UPS or Staples, download the file to your computer or a portable storage device (i.e., flash drive) and then upload the file online or take the drive to a copy store. Be sure to tell them to fit to paper. You might also want to choose a heavier-than-usual paper stock.
The goal of this combination of images was to achieve a visually attractive depiction of the wide scope of interests — scholarly, collecting, historical — that The Daguerreian Society covers, from the invention of photography until the end of the 19th century.
Looking at the poster, how many photographs can you recognize? Can you spot works by Julia Margaret Cameron or Francis Frith? Who made that lunar stereo? Which pioneer of photography appears twice?
Happy hunting!
Paper Size Primer
If you are a member and would like to help publicize the 2024 Symposium in Houston, we have marketing materials that can help.
The Society has created two printed postcards for distribution at trade fairs and in dealer mailings to customers.
One of the cards promotes the 19th-century Photo Fair on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The other is for the Symposium overall from Oct. 17-19. It features on the front a daguerreotype of Sam Houston from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - our host institution.
If you’re interested in receiving a shipment to share with clients and anyone else you think would be interested, please reach out to Business Director Diane Philippi at diane_dagsoc@comcast.net.
The Society regularly organizes educational programs exploring various aspects of the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography.
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