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Have a discovery to share? Join us in Washington!
Propose a talk for The Daguerreian Society's 2026 Symposium, October 15–17, in Washington, DC.
Presentations are scheduled for Friday, October 16, as part of the three-day event.
The Symposium brings together collectors, scholars, curators, dealers, and enthusiasts of 19th-century photography for talks, behind-the-scenes tours, and collegial exchange.
We invite proposals on topics such as:
We especially welcome proposals that offer new research, fresh interpretation, or previously unpublished material.
Please keep in mind:
To submit a proposal, please email:
Send materials to speaker-committee@daguerreiansociety.org.
Proposals must be received by May 31, 2026.
We look forward to seeing what you will bring to Washington!
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to attend a Daguerreian Society Symposium?
Each year, collectors and enthusiasts of early photography come together for private visits to institutional collections, expert presentations, lively discussions, social events, and the chance to discover new works for their collections.
To give you a clearer sense of why people from all walks of life—people just like you—look forward to this gathering year after year, we’re pleased to share a special excerpt from the latest Daguerreian Society Quarterly: the richly illustrated cover story on the 2025 Symposium in Hartford, Connecticut.
Read the excerpt here. Full issue here (for members).
This in-depth feature takes you inside the Symposium—from behind-the-scenes museum tours and expert talks to receptions, our 19th-century Photo Fair & Auction, and even a special event featuring contemporary daguerreotypes.
If this exchange of ideas and images appeals to you, mark your calendar for our 2026 Symposium & Photo Fair, October 15–17, in Washington, DC.
While membership is not required to attend, most participants are members, who enjoy discounted registration and additional benefits throughout the year.
P.S. Many first-time attendees discover the Symposium through word of mouth or a preview like this—and tell us it’s what made the experience feel tangible and worth prioritizing.
Members may access the latest Quarterly from the Quarterly and Newsletter Archive page in the site's members-only section. The "compact" version is suitable for reading on screen or printing at home.
Inside this issue...
A Showing of Daguerreotypes, ca. 1850, quarter-plate daguerreotype (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art)
What is a daguerreotype?
A daguerreotype is the earliest widely adopted form of photography, introduced in 1839 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. It produced a highly detailed, one-of-a-kind image on a polished silver-coated copper plate. No negative was involved—each daguerreotype is a unique object.
What were typical subjects?
Why was the invention of the daguerreotype important?
The daguerreotype was revolutionary: It produced images with unprecedented accuracy and detail; made portraiture accessible to the middle class; and led to the rise of a booming photographic industry during the 1840s–1850s, as studios rapidly spread across Europe and the United States.
How can you identify a daguerreotype?
The most reliable way is the mirror test. Hold the image at different angles:
At our recent Symposium in Hartford, Connecticut, Daguerreian Society President Mike Robinson presented longtime member Carl Mautz with the Society's prestigious Fellowship Award. The award recognizes individuals who have advanced scholarship in the field of photo history and generously shared that knowledge with contemporaries and future generations of historians, scholars, and collectors.
Carl is a photo historian, publisher, and dealer best known for his pioneering research on 19th-century Western photographers. Beginning as a collector in the 1970s, he developed an interest in the photographers who documented the settlement and landscapes of the American frontier. His passion for uncovering biographical details and studio locations evolved into one of the most comprehensive reference projects in the field.
To share and preserve this knowledge, Carl — a lawyer by training — founded Carl Mautz Publishing, through which he produced scholarly yet accessible works devoted to early photography. His most acclaimed title, (1997; updated 2018), remains an indispensable reference for curators, collectors, and historians, cataloging thousands of practitioners active west of the Mississippi in the 19th century.
As a longtime dealer and collector, Carl has specialized in daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereoviews, and other vintage images depicting Western towns, mining camps, and Native American subjects. His dual role as scholar and dealer helped bridge academic and collecting communities, and his meticulous research has been cited by major institutions, including the Library of Congress.
While we celebrate Carl for this well-deserved honor, it's worth taking a moment to recall all the past recipients who have contributed so much to the Society's mission of advancing the understanding and appreciation of early photography.
We raise a glass to the following individuals who have informed and inspired our members, helped build a sense of community, and made an outsized contribution to the scholarship and preservation of 19th-century photographs.
2025 - Carl Mautz2024 - Malcolm Daniel 2023 - Carlos Vertanessian2022 - Founding Members of the Society Alan Johanson, George Whiteley, Larry Gottheim, Dennis Waters2021 - No Symposium2020 - No Symposium 2019 - Jane Aspinwall and Mike Robinson2018 - Leonard Walle 2017 - Jeremy Rowe2016 - Alex Novak (Achievement Symposium Award) 2015 - Greg French2014 - Margaret Calvarin 2013 - Matthew Isenburg, John Wood2012 - Mark Johnson 2011 - Carol Johnson2010 - Keith Davis 2009 - Jean-Pierre Spilbauer2008 - Grant Romer 2007 - John Craig
Below please find links to the program for the In-Person Symposium and Virtual Symposium. We look forward to seeing you in Hartford and online!
In-Person program
Virtual program
And if you haven't registered yet, there's still time!
Register for the In-Person Symposium
Register for the Virtual Symposium
HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 11, 2025 — For three days this month — starting Thursday, Sept. 25 — Hartford will be the center of the universe for people who love the world’s first photographs. Collectors, dealers, artists, museum professionals and just plain fans of these early camera images will gather from across the globe for the annual meeting of The Daguerreian Society, the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art and preservation of early photographs.
Clockwise from top left: Tinted daguerreotype of a woman holding a letter, circa late 1840s to early 1850s. Original paper photograph of Sergeant John Simms of Stamford, Connecticut, circa 1862, that will be for sale at the Photo Fair. View at Armsmear, the residence of Mrs. Samuel Colt, Hartford, Connecticut, by R. S. De Lamater (stereoview), circa 1869. Exceptional daguerreotype of an African American woman holding her young daughter (in auction).
A highlight of the three-day gathering will be the society’s Photo Fair, which is open to the public and taking place Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Hartford Marriott Downtown hotel (Ballrooms A, B and C, third floor). From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET (9 a.m. for Symposium attendees), the fair will feature rare and historically important images —most one-of-a-kind. You will have a chance to not only browse through the past but also buy an authentic piece of history to hold in your hand ... for as little as $10.
If that immersion in early photography isn’t enough, you’ll have another opportunity to hunt for photographic treasures later that day: The society will hold its annual Benefit Auction starting at 8 p.m. ET Saturday. Nearly 80 lots will be offered. In-person bidding (for Symposium registrants) will take place at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, with online bidding available through Freeman’s | Hindman.
This will be the first time The Daguerreian Society, an international nonprofit, has held its annual Symposium in Hartford. For those who can’t attend in person, the society is also offering a Virtual Symposium Experience.
To learn more about the Photo Fair, Benefit Auction and Symposium, visit DaguerreianSociety.org/Symposium.
To download the photos above which will be offered at the Photo Fair and Auction, as well as photos and a video clip from past society fairs, click here.
About The Daguerreian Society
The Daguerreian Society is the leading organization dedicated to the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography. Our international membership brings together photography collectors and dealers, museum professionals, historians, scientists, students, educators, photographers, and artists. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988, The Daguerreian Society welcomes all who share an interest in early photography. For more information, please visit DaguerreianSociety.org.
Click here for PDF version
Media contact: Dave Fondiller, media@daguerreiansociety.org
The Daguerreian Society’s bylaws outline a process for nominating and electing members of its Board of Directors, who serve three-year terms. The process requires a vote of the members.
Except for our Business Director, Diane Filippi, Society Board members are all volunteers. Individuals may serve for up to three consecutive terms with a two-year hiatus before being eligible to run again.
Each year, seats on the Board open. This year, there are three open Board positions for the 2026–2028 term. The Board's Nominating Committee has put forward the following slate of nominees:
Susan Meyer has been a member of The Daguerreian Society since 2012 and a daguerreotype collector since that time. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Duluth (History), she notes that her interest in daguerreotypes is connected to her love of history: they show what people did, how they lived, and, in some cases, how they died. In addition to daguerreotypes, Susan and her husband collect American industrial art, including WPA paintings and black-and-white photography from the 1930s and 40s. Susan worked for 3M for 42 years before retiring in 2017 as a global supply chain manager. She has served on the board since 2020 as Treasurer, Board Chair, and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. She has agreed to serve a third term on the Board.
Dave Fondiller has served on the Board since 2023 and is running for his second term. Based in New York, he first joined the Society around 1995 after writing a feature story on Matthew Isenburg’s extraordinary collection for Forbes, where he worked as a staff writer. After a hiatus of several years, he rejoined in 2013 and has been active ever since. Board leadership roles include co-chairing the Marketing & Communications Committee, serving on the Membership and Publications Committees, and participating on various Symposium-related teams. He is also one of the Society’s social media administrators. A passionate collector of daguerreotypes and other early images, Dave brings more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience to the Society. A graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, he currently works as a communications and editorial consultant.
Edith Cuerrier (first-term nominee) is a French Canadian born near Montreal and now based in Newfoundland and Labrador. She works as an archives technician at The Rooms Provincial Archives in St John's, NL. A photography scholar and enthusiast, she will be teaching a History of Photography course at her local community college this fall. She served as project cataloguer of the Cromer Collection at the George Eastman Museum (2017–2019). Earlier in her career, she spent more than 20-years as a military photographer in the Royal Canadian Air Force (1980–2001). Edith earned her MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) in 2009 and a BA in Anthropology from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2006. She has been a member of the Daguerreian Society ever since 2008, when Nick Graver introduced her to the organization and she acquired her first daguerreotype. She attended her first Daguerreian Symposium in Paris in 2013, and several others since. She looks forward to attending more in the future, and especially to meeting everyone in Hartford, Connecticut, this year.
Members will vote to fill the three positions from the proposed slate and may also write in candidates. The three individuals receiving the most votes will fill the open Board positions.
Members will receive a ballot link by email on September 5. Results will be announced at the annual business meeting on September 26 in Hartford.
Can’t make it to Hartford? Be part of the Symposium from wherever you are!
Join us online for the
As close as your computer (or tablet or smartphone) and available worldwide, you’ll enjoy:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Virtual Program
Tips for Registering
For our international community and those unable to watch the livestream in real time, Symposium events will be recorded and available to registrants for convenient on-demand viewing.
Online conference fee: USD $150. Daguerreian Society membership not required.
The Society regularly organizes educational programs exploring various aspects of the history, technology, art, and preservation of 19th-century photography.
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