This is your once-a-year chance to reconnect with old friends and colleagues…and to make new connections with other people who understand the all-out thrill of sharing great photographic images from the past…people who share the way you feel about the vivid, time-travel experiences offered by 19th-century photography.

Here are some of the events that you'll enjoy when you participate in DC 2026:

• A festive opening reception for attendees 
• Talks by expert speakers presenting important discoveries and new research, showing seldom-seen images and offering new insights into photography’s beginnings
• A photo fair with veteran dealers and newcomers offering more daguerreotypes and 19th-century photographs than can be seen anywhere. Buy, sell, trade, or just look and learn – it’s an opportunity that only comes along once a year.
• A grand banquet with a live auction and silent auction featuring exceptional images
• Room-hopping to catch up with friends and see what’s on the market
• And behind-the-scenes viewings of photography collections at leading cultural institutions, led by their curators

Block out the time on your calendar…then register for the Symposium and make your room reservation for a stay at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill at a special rate (reserve by August 13 for the special rate as rooms are limited). 

Behind-the-Scenes Institution Visits

Our museum and institution visits will include private tours of several 19th-century photography collections. We have two lined up so far:

• The National Gallery of Art will be staging a photography exhibition to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding. The exhibition, which is scheduled to open October 3, will feature some of the 248 early photographs of African American life that the museum acquired in 2023 from longtime Society member Ross J. Kelbaugh. Kelbaugh's collection includes 11 photographs by celebrated early photographers James Presley Ball, Glen Alvin Goodridge, and Augustus Washington. More information here. 

• The Smithsonian American Art Museum will be organizing an exhibition in August featuring items from the collection of Larry J. West, another longtime Society member. In 2021, the museum acquired 286 objects from West's collection, dating from the 1840s to the mid-1920s. They include works by African American daguerreotypists James P. Ball, Glen Alvin Goodridge, and Augustus Washington. In 2023, the museum enhanced its holdings further by purchasing the Dr. Robert L. Drapkin Collection, a wide-ranging collection of photographs representing African Americans from roughly the 1840s to the 1970s. More information here.

Antique Photo Fair

The Daguerreian Society Photo Fair will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2026 in the Congressional A Ballroom (lobby level) of the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capital Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. It is open to Symposium attendees as well as the public.

Symposium attendees and members: 9 am early admission. Entry cost ($10) included with conference registration.

General admission: 10 am–4 pm, $10. More information here. 

Registration

To register for the conference, a link under "Upcoming Events" on the homepage will be set up soon. By registering, you receive all the program highlights mentioned above. Further details will follow in emails and Daguerreian Society Quarterly issues.

A summary of the registration options is as follows. Early registration typically ends a month before the event.