Photograph of the 6th President of the United States

[Mason Kennedy]

"Photographic copy of a daguerotype," whatever that means, of John Quincy Adams. 1843. This is the oldest picture ever of an American President.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams

[Wounded Bear]

1. Daguerotype was an early form of photohgraphy.....

Named after its French inventor DaGuerre. It used primitive chemicals by modern standards. IIRC they tended to come out in browninsh or sepia tones.

So "Photographic copy of a daguerotype" means it is a picture of a picture.

[onehandle]

5. Tended to kill the photographer too. nt

[progressoid]

10. Yep.

Mercury fumes tend to do bad things to you.

[AlbertCat]

21. It's actually a "negative" image on a glass plate

and you have to put a black background behind the glass plate to see it...by turning to the light at the right angle.

That's why they had to make a "photographic copy" of the Daguerotype.

[datasuspect]

2. he looks like he could probably whip most modern politicians' asses with a belt

for being mockeries of statesmen.

what a glare that man has.

[onehandle]

4. 'Sir. Are you stealing my soul?' nt

[Myrina]

39. Aaah, now there's a thought ...

Some of 'em could use it.

[Tikki]

3. Looks a bit like the first Doctor Who...

Wait...do you think? Time traveler and all.


Tikki

[Dpm12]

6. I'm related to

JQA and his dad

[JustAnotherGen]

7. Cool!

[enlightenment]

8. If you're related to John Q, I hope you're related to his day . . .

otherwise, we need to know what Abigail was getting up to while John Sr. was down at the coffee house with his mates, complaining about King George's latest abuses and usurpations!

[frogmarch]

14. So am I.

Through our common ancestors, John and Elizabeth Thomson Cogswell.

[EC]

24. So am I

but no one in our family looks like him that I can tell from this photo.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. Ahhh there you are

You brave old soul!


I wonder if he looks more like Abigail or John . . . Based on paintings - he seems to have Abigail's jaw/mouth.

[midwest irish]

11. I wonder what books

those are behind him?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. I think they are a couple of Nora Roberts'.

Mixed in with a few Danielle Steele's, and one or two Anne Rice's.

[midwest irish]

13. I think

that is the most logical possibility.

[AlbertCat]

22. I wonder what books those are behind him?

Either the "Harry Potter" series or the "Left Behind" series.

[el_bryanto]

15. He also wrestled under the name "El Quincinator." That story isn't as well known though. nt

[SunSeeker]

16. He looks good for a 76-year-old...no small feat considering the average lifespan at the time. nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

17. I dunno...he doesn't look at ALL like John Quincy Adams...

Everyone knows THIS is J Q Adams:




(from "Amistad&quot

Welcome to DU, by the way!

[woo me with science]

20. Right after some fava beans and chianti...

[TwilightGardener]

18. Cool.

[xxqqqzme]

19. It is amazing to me to realize

this photograph reaches back to the revolution.

[NBachers]

23. Sandwiched between James Monroe and Andrew Jackson.

[JaneyVee]

25. This is great. JQA is a Founder.

[rdharma]

27. JQA is a Founder.

According to Michelle Bachmann?

[JaneyVee]

30. D'oh! That was his daddy. Spoke to soon.

[Rider3]

26. what a happy-looking guy....

[frazzled]

33. The exposure time was quite long

So the subject had to sit still, often supported. This led to stiff, unnatural poses.

[KittyWampus]

50. A friend of mine who was into reenactments & stuff said that was key to getting good photos… looking

uncomfortable and stiff. Just pretend you've been forced to sit on a hard chair for 20 minutes without moving a muscle on a hot day. LOL!

[patrice]

28. Wow, what a face!

[Arkana]

32. Nope, that was his dad.

[patrice]

36. Yeah, I just looked it up. I love! old photographs, because you can just almost

put yourself in that time and place just looking at their faces.

[WilliamPitt]

29. History geekgasm

So cool.

[Arkana]

31. An unhappy man who had an unhappy Presidency.

Adams suffered from the same problems his father did--a grand, detailed vision for the country's future and absolutely no willingness or ability to compromise in order to achieve it. The Jackson-allied Congress pledged to make his life hell from the moment he took the oath of office, and they made good.

[patrice]

34. Looks as though no one could tell him to put that used handkerchief in his pocket.

I've known someone like that.

[DrewFlorida]

46. He would have had to sit motionless for many minutes for this photograph, which explains

his stiff and emotionless pose.

[lame54]

35. Looks like President Cheney

[DrewFlorida]

45. John Quincy Adams was a much better person than Dick Cheney.

He defended in court, the slaves from the ship Amistad and won their freedom, when no other lawyer would take their case.

[CarrieLynne]

37. there was a "Democratic-Republican" Party? wonder how that went LOL!

[malthaussen]

38. Nice pic, but I wish there was a recording...

... too bad voice reproduction was a few years away.

-- Mal

[life long demo]

41. Prepare yourself for some humor.....

We do have their voices, just watch the musical 1776, they are all there, except for JQA of course. LOL

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[NYC Liberal]

40. Only person to lose both the electoral vote and the popular vote and still become president.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

42. An uninteresting (to most) side note...

First, great historical image. Thanks for posting it.

I was married years ago to a direct descendant of this man. My daughter is descended from his bloodline also. Doesn't mean much really this far out but just an interesting part of the trivia of my life.

[DrewFlorida]

43. A daguerotype was the earliest form of photography, a photograpic copy is

just what it sounds like, a photo of the original daguerotype (not the actual daguerotype). A daguerotype is a piece of glass coated with chemicals and exposed to light, creating a photo on glass. Daguerotype photography was first invented in France in 1839 and quickly spread across Europe and America. One of the problems with early photography was the subject had to sit motionless for several minutes during the exposure, which is why the people in the photos always look rigid and emotionless.

[backscatter712]

51. IIRC, daguerotypes had to be developed with mercury...

You had to heat the mercury and expose the plate to mercury vapor.

This process tended to be hard on photographers.

[DrewFlorida]

52. I didn't know that, tha's interesting, thanks!

[NoMoreWarNow]

44. he was ~78 when that image was taken

and looks pretty good, especially for that time!

[loudsue]

47. Cool post!

Really interesting stuff!

[kiva]

48. And a photo of our fourth First Lady

[IMG][/IMG]

Dolly Madison and her niece, 1848.

[RedCappedBandit]

49. Crazy how the world was black and white back then.

[MadrasT]

53. Way cool

Thanks for posting.

[TheMightyFavog]

54. He wasn't the first SITTING president to be photographed.

That honor went to William Henry Harrison. The photo was taken on the day of his inauguration.