US photographer, Robert Cornellius, and a daguerrotype head clamp. The first Selfie and most people agree that he was rather good looking. His photo spawned a rather irreverent website. "My Daguerreotype Boyfriend" of good looking hunks from the past.
Daguerre gave his process free to the world, but only under licence to the UK,
which developed photography along a different route. More later.
America took to producing daguerreotype photographs and there are many, many, You Tube compilations of these. Virtually every American town had its Daguerreotype photographic studio.

beautiful colourised daguerreotypes - photography was intitally an adjunct to artist's studios

1850 Woman and late 1840s Man - note his wide lapels and cravat
Daguerrotypes contained very fine details




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