Untitled 19 - 1860

This is an undated photograph by Jeremiah Gurney, an American daguerreotypist active in New York City. The image speaks to the emergence of photography as a tool for constructing social identity in the mid-19th century. Gurney's studio, one of the most successful in the city, catered to a clientele eager to participate in this new form of visual representation. The man in the portrait, whose name is now lost to us, embodies the era’s ideal of masculine respectability. The photograph testifies to the democratizing effect of photography. While portraiture had previously been the exclusive domain of the wealthy, photographic studios offered access to a broader segment of the population. Though Gurney’s images might seem straightforward records, they were carefully staged performances, reflecting and reinforcing prevailing social norms. To understand the photograph fully, we can consult city directories, census records, and period newspapers. These sources will help us recover the sitter’s world. They will also contextualize the social function of photographic portraiture during this transformative period in American history.