In 1839, the world was forever changed by Louis Daguerre, a French man considered the father of modern photography. It wasn’t long before his new light sensitive materials and developing process spread to the United States. As you can imagine, very few of these original images have survived, but there are a few photos from the 1840’s that remain intact. This video shows off some of the first photos ever taken in America!

It’s mind blowing to stop and think about how these photos represent the earliest true image of our country in existence. This is as far back as we can physically see. While many talented painters existed before photography was born, portraits and landscapes, no matter how realistic, could not escape the limitations of artistic interpretation and skill. These snapshots in time are the furthest back we can go without relying on our imagination. How lucky we are to have preserved them.

This photo slideshow was compiled and shared by Chubachus on YouTube. This is one channel you definitely should check out – it has more than 1,000 other beautiful, historical videos like this one from all around the world!

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