THE DAGUERREIAN ANNUAL

1996

"IT WAS I WHO TOOK
THE FIRST"

An Investigation Into Professor Robert Taft's Assessment of Whether Dr. John William Draper Took the First Portrait.

ARTICLE "A"

by Howard R. McManus

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(endnotes are integrated into the text)

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A Brief Biography of John William Draper
and a Daunting Challenge:

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THE FIRST PORTRAITS c. 1893

Confused Claims
by New York University
for the
Dorothy Catherine Draper Daguerreotype:

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1938 -- Robert Taft versus Draper

TAFT'S FIRST CHALLENGE:

"The First Portrait I Took Last December" quotation.


-- How Taft missed the context of this statement
because Draper used a SEQUENCE OF LENSES

-- How it is important to clarify
WHAT qualifies as a First Portrait

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1938 -- Robert Taft versus Draper

TAFT'S SECOND CHALLENGE:

Mr. Tillman & the Committee:

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1938 -- Robert Taft versus Draper

TAFT'S THIRD AND FINAL CHALLENGE:

William Henry Goode's 1841 Article
and 1887 corroboration of Draper:

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John William Draper's

SIMPLE REQUEST:

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Appendix I:

The Investigating Committee:

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Appendix II:

The First Portrait DEFINED:

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READ BACKGROUND TO THIS ARTICLE:
(repeats Draper's biography)

LINK

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