Rare, original photos – some 150+ years old – will be featured at Boston event Sept. 30
BOSTON, September 14, 2023 – For three days this month – starting Thursday, Sept. 28 – Boston will be the center of the universe for people who love the world’s first photographs. Collectors, dealers, artists, museum professionals and just plain fans of these early camera images will gather from across the globe for the annual meeting of The Daguerreian Society, the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art and preservation of early photographs.
A highlight of the three-day Symposium will be the Society’s Photo Fair, which is open to the public and taking place on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel (in Avenue 34, lobby level). From 10 am to 4 pm, the fair will feature rare and historically important images – most one-of-a-kind and a number related to 19th-century Boston and New England. You will have a chance to not only browse through the past but also buy an authentic piece of history to hold in your hand.
Thousands of historical photos from as far back as 1840 through the Civil War and up to 1900 will be on display for purchase, as will photographic ephemera and equipment. The images will include daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite (CDVs), cabinet cards, stereographs and other paper photographs. Admission is $10.
If that immersion in early photography isn’t enough, you’ll have another opportunity to hunt for photographic treasures later that day: The Society is holding its annual Benefit Auction starting at 8:30 pm on Saturday, and it too is open to the public, via remote bidding. The auction will offer more than 75 lots including over 200 19th-century images. Bidding will be in person at the Boston Park Plaza for Symposium registrants and online through LiveAuctioneers.
This is the first time in nearly 30 years that the Daguerreian Society, a nonprofit founded in 1988, has held its annual gathering in Boston.
To learn more about the Symposium, photo fair and auction, visit www.daguerreiansociety.org/Symposium.
To download the antique images above, which will be offered at the photo fair or auction, plus other photos from past Society fairs, click here.
Caption info: (Top) Buying and selling at last year's Photo Fair in Chicago. Daguerreotype of a girl and her doll by L. Chase of Boston, ca. 1845-55. Daguerreotype of the Twitchell Estate in Framingham, Mass., circa 1850. Ambrotype of a Civil War naval officer, a fireman 2nd class in Boston in 1859.
About The Daguerreian Society
The Daguerreian Society is the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography. Our international membership brings together photography collectors and dealers, museum professionals, historians, scientists, students, educators, photographers, and artists. A 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 1988, The Daguerreian Society welcomes all who share an interest in early photography. For more information, please visit www.daguerreiansociety.org.
Media contact: Dave Fondiller, media@daguerreiansociety.org
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