Figure 1.--We believe that this Dag was probably taken in the 1840s. Thevboys are unidentified. One boy hasa stocknand the yoingerboy ba smsll bow. Thevoldr boy has a lapael jacket, the youngr boy has what loooks likeva collar-buttoning jacket. But notice how scruffy they look, dressed up, but in ill fitting suits. You of course never see this in painted portraits. Other Dags may show better turned out boys, but rarely as perfecly as the boys in painted portraits. Click on heimage to see the case and houising which help to date it.

The 1840s was the first decade that we have large numbers of images of ordinary people thaks to theinvention of commercial photography in France. Until this we only have the relatively small number of painted images. This meant people who could afford the substantial cost of a painted portrait. Now the photograph was still relatively new. And while large numbers of Dags were made, especially in America, the muumber was still relatively small base on what would transpire in subsequent decades. A Daguerreotype portrait cost about $30 in 1840s when they first appeared (1840). This- was roughly equivalent to three or even more months' wages for the average American at the time. Such high price were due to the novelty and technical complications of the process. Daguerreotypes were the first commercially available photographs. The images were produced by exposing an image on a polished silvered copper plate using iodine-sensitized chemicals and mercury vapor. That was high-tech in 1840. Few people were at first capable of doing that at the time, Each plate produced a a unique positive. All of this meant skilled labor, specialized equipment as well as time-consuming chemical treatments were required. The high prices, however, attracted many to the industry, especially in America. And as studios sprang up all over the country, prices rapidly declined to $5 or less (1845). We also note prices as as low as $2.50, but these were the very small Dags. Still steep, but manageable for many families. This was a price that even naive artists could not match. According to one source, a $5 Dag would have been equivalent to about $200.00 in 2026. This is based on annual inflation of about 2 percent, but actual inflation over this period was somewhat higher. (Based on gold values it would be about $1,000) Now that was expensive, but only a fraction of what a painted portrait might have cost. We note that most painted portraits depict the children immaculately dressed and their hair perfectly combed. Some Dags like the boy on the previous page show the children well put together for their portrait. We also note, however, many children, especially the boys that can only be described as scruffy. The boys here are a good example (figure 1). With suits that do not fit well and hair not well combed. By the 1850s and especially the 60s, boys were almost always were turned out for their portraits. We are not entirely sure why this was, but it is very apparent in the photographic record. We suspect that a factor was the remarkable economic growth and industrialization that was transforming American society at mid-century.

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Created: 1:29 PM 6/25/2026
Last updated: 1:29 PM 6/25/2026