Who Is That Frenchman on Seventh Street? Part III: Appearance and Impact

One of the most striking features of the Daguerre monument is the obvious difference in composition of the various sections. While the work's vertical sections are gray granite, the bronze that forms the ancillary figures and the garland provides a keen contrast and emphasizes the superterrestrial experience of the tribute.

The dramatic presentation of the wreath about both the planet and the head of Daguerre signifies the international importance of his invention. Daguerre’s head is placed between the eastern and western hemispheres and at the equator, meaning the effect of his work also transits the northern and southern hemispheres.

Another indicator of the significance of Daguerre’s achievement is in the location of the north pole directly above his head; this might be interpreted in many ways, but the most obvious is that just as the north pole is marked by the polar star in the celestial sphere—which serves as a point of reference to all humanity—so the planet and all its humanity will forever have the work of Louis Daguerre as a point of reference.

Hezekiah McMichael, chairman of the monument committee of the Photographers Association of America, paid homage to this global impact of photography at the Daguerre monument’s dedication ceremony. The event was recorded in the September 20, 1890, issue of Wilson’s Photographic Magazine:

It was considered that the tribute, while losing nothing by dignity or elevation or sentiment, must present a simplicity in keeping with the camera, which, while one of the three greatest inventions of modern times, has likewise become the most universal over the earth, by very reason of its primitive character and processes of manipulation. Do we not see travelers coming home, day by day, from the remotest lands of barbarism—Stanley from the Dark Continent, Kennan from the dungeons of Siberia, Prejeralsky from Central Asia, and Nordenskjold from the Arctic Seas, with those mysterious regions laid before us in startling quality and realism—all because of the instantaneous victory of the camera, a triumph over complicated action as well as the reposeful spirit of the landscape.

The way the wreath drapes about the globe is not accidental. Not only does Daguerre’s head fall from it like an amulet on a planet-sized chain, but also the terminating points indicate two important locations on the monument. The left terminus drops to a label on the left side, while the right terminus drops at the base of the Daguerre relief.

Also, the sculptor, Jonathan Hartley, was certainly aware of how his materials would change appearance over the years. The patina that the bronze elements have achieved over the 120 years since the monument’s dedication enlivens the life forms of the work—the woman, who is an allegory of Fame, Daguerre, and even the wreath. These life forms became verdant with the aging and greening of the bronze.

The lively colors of the bronze statue pop against the granite behind it, just as photography popped into the world with images of a moment that would last, theoretically, forever. In 1915 Wilfred French discussed the monument and its relationship to the form of photography:

For grace and beauty of design, this tribute of esteem and affection is worthy the fame of the illustrious inventor, and speaks well for the taste and generosity of the projectors. The bronze likeness, modeled from a daguerreotype, has been pronounced an admirable one by distinguished connoisseurs; and as to the maiden, typically French in face and figure, she expresses the sentiment felt by every appreciative exponent of photography the world over.

The cultural impact of the invention of the photographic process is described in the writing  on the monument's lower pedestal:

PHOTOGRAPHY, THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH, AND THE STEAM ENGINE ARE THE THREE GREAT DISCOVERIES OF THE AGE. NO FIVE CENTURIES IN HUMAN PROGRESS CAN SHOW SUCH STRIDES AS THESE.

And if there were ever any doubt of the identity attached to the work, boldly carved into the middle of the acropodium is the single name:

DAGUERRE.

—Warren Perry, Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery

 

Sources:

Wilfred A. French, “Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre,” Photo Era (November 1, 1915):  217.

Edward L. Wilson, “Pertaining to the Unveiling of the Daguerre Memorial,” Wilson’s Photographic Magazine (September 20, 1890): 545.