A daguerrotype of the Unitarian Church on the east side of Broadway across Waverly Place. Fall 1839 or winter 1840, by Samuel F.B. Morse and John William Draper from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Every so often, articles or social media appear claiming photographs to be the oldest taken in New York City. Such a designation is of course rather difficult – images may still be sitting in personal collections never shared, or simply buried deep in existing archives. In 2009, the below Upper West Side daguerrotype was sold at auction at Sotheby’s for $62,500 dating to October 1848 or earlier. The New York Times exercised its usual caution, writing that “a photo believed to be one of the oldest ever taken in New York City was sold.” But we think we’ve found something even older.
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