The Collected Library, Including Americana and Early Photography

Hartford, Connecticut: ca. 1851-53. Sixth plate daguerreotype, 3 5/8 x 3 3/8 in. (92 x 83 mm) (case). Centered standing portrait of Benjamin Galpin Savage. Mat stamped "A. Washington / 136 Main St. / Hartford CT." Some tarnishing to edges, spotting and specks to plate, and spotting to mat. Modern identification note mounted to velvet pad. Housed in full pressed paper case, lightly worn.

Augustus Washington (1820-1875) was an African American abolitionist, and esteemed daguerreotypist perhaps best remembered for his two portraits of abolitionist John Brown. Born in New York City, he was well educated and heavily influenced by anti-slavery publications and the abolition movement. He became skilled in the Daguerrean method as a way to help fund his further education while at Dartmouth in Hanover, Vermont. He opened the first photographic studio in Hartford, Connecticut in 1847 and was hailed for his artistic excellence, capturing the likenesses of Hartford's elite. In 1853, he decided to move to the Colony of Liberia where he continued his practice as a photographer, before deciding to go into Liberian politics.