OregonScape

Abstract

oregonscape The Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s photograph collection contains many portrait photographs of early pioneers in the Oregon Country. Photography, invented in 1837, was important on the frontier because it supplied a connection to families and friends back East. Often,people had photos taken before they started out so they could leave an image of themselves behind in case something happened along the trail.By 1851,there were professional photographers in Oregon, and people also documented their arrival in their new home. Daguerreotypes are easily identified among early photographs as they are made from sheets of copper coated with silver, and they look like mirrors when viewed straight on. Viewed from a slight angle, the image appears. Each exposure made only one image. A second copy required the sitter to continue sitting during another exposure. Sitters had to remain absolutely still for from twenty seconds up to a minute. Any movement created a blur. Before electric lighting became available (long after the daguerreotype era), photograph studios were lit by large skylights, and the length of exposure was determined by the brightness of the available sunlight; cloudy days meant sitting still much longer. Henrietta L. Averill sat for these daguerreotype portraits around 1852, the year she came to Oregon. It is unknown whether they were taken before she left or on her arrival. She is dressed in the current fashion for her portrait,with lace adorning her wide sleeves and a fancy collar setting off her stylish hairstyle. Her earrings are unfashionably long, and so may be family heirlooms.As she moved her head between the two exposures, the cross around her neck started to slip out of sight. Her expression is quite solemn, as is common in daguerreotypes and other types of photographs until well after the Civil War. Holding a smile without moving for more than a few seconds is difficult . Photographers who were concerned with making sharp images did not encourage smiling. These daguerreotypes were packaged in two different cases.The one on the right is in a maroon leather case with floral decoration on the outside and a decorative velvet interior.Its excellent condition shows that it was probably kept in a desk or drawer as a keepsake.The left-hand daguerreotype is in a plain brown case with curved corners and a plain velvet interior. It may have been meant to be carried in a pocket or bag. —Mikki Tint, former special collections librarian, OHS Research Library OHS neg. no. bb007314 OHS neg. no. bb007317 ...