The venue of photography by the time of the beginning of the Civil war had advanced quite a bit from the days of its invention by two Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre working together invented a quicker process to develop images.

Hence, the Daguerreotype as the process came to be known was born ushering in the age of photography and portraits. In 1841, William Henry Talbott invented the Calotype, a negative process, which made copying images possible.

In Gettysburg Pennsylvania the sleepy little burg that became famous for the battle that took place in July 1863 was no exception in the world of Daguerreotype photography.


The introduction of Daguerreotype came about in the 1840s.


According to William A. Frassanito’s great book “Early Photography at Gettysburg”, the first mention of daguerreotype photographers coming to Gettysburg appeared in the local newspaper The Adams Sentinel on August 17th 1846. The announcement stated that two members of the Daguerrean Gallery of Baltimore MD, Messrs Plumer and Wilde would be located at Mr. S.S. McCrearys residence and would be executing portraits and miniatures of both groups and individuals. Photography was born in the area with that visit.

The town saw a long and varied list of daguerreotype photographers pass through the town from 1846 through 1852. Ultimately a local resident and coach peddler Samuel Weaver opened the burg’s first permanent Daguerrean portrait studio named the “Daguerreotype Gallery” located on Chambersburg Street in 1852. Weaver was the only game in town with virtually no competition from 1852 to 1859. That changed when two Philadelphia brothers Charles J. and Isaac G. Tyson made their way to Gettysburg and opened their own photo studio. The world of photography was now well established in Gettysburg, Adams County Pennsylvania.


“A good daguerreotype was as perfect a kind of photograph as was ever made”

“Once you really commence to see things, then you really commence to feel things.”

Edward Steichen