Before social media existed and “likes” came from newspaper prints, early photographers captured images without the goal of earning virtual reactions.
It was the dawn of photography—an era of blurry and grainy shots evolving into crisp black-and-white and eventually color.
Explore some of the oldest photographs ever recorded.
First Reliably Dated Daguerreotype
French artist and photographer Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre unveiled his invention in 1839.
The daguerreotype was rigid and heavy, making it accessible only to the wealthy.
Today, these early photographs are rare—so don’t expect to snap a quick selfie with one!
First Photograph With A Human In It
Another daguerreotype, this image is the earliest known photograph capturing a living person.
Taken in 1838, it shows Boulevard du Temple in Paris, France.
With an exposure time lasting several minutes, most of the bustling street remained unseen—except for two men in the bottom left corner, one polishing the other’s boots.
It almost seems like they posed for the moment.
Oldest Surviving Photograph Of A Woman
This is Dorothy Catherine Draper, photographed in 1839 or 1840 by her brother, John William Draper.
Taken at his Washington Square studio at New York University, the image was captured in the first year after Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre announced his daguerreotype process in Paris.
Seizing the opportunity, John immortalized his sister in one of the earliest known portraits.
First Self-Portrait Photograph
Taken in 1839, Robert Cornelius, head-and-shoulders [self-]portrait, facing front, with arms crossed is considered the first self-portrait in photography.
Long before Instagram, Cornelius may have been the talk of the town—perhaps even the first viral selfie in history.
First Hoax Photograph
In 1840, Hippolyte Bayard, Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man became an early example of photography being used for dramatic effect.
Bayard staged his own “death” in protest after being overlooked in the race for photographic invention.
He aimed to make a statement—and over 180 years later, his work is still remembered.
First Photograph Of The Moon
On March 26, 1840, John William Draper captured this historic photo of the moon from the rooftop observatory at New York University.
Given the bulky equipment of the time, hauling it all upstairs was no small feat.
While far from today’s high-resolution images, this was the first astronomical photograph—a groundbreaking achievement in early photography.
Oldest Photograph Of A US President
Philip Haas captured this striking photograph of President John Quincy Adams in either 1843 or 1847.
By this time, Adams was in the later years of his life, passing away on February 23, 1848.
Even in his old age, he had a commanding presence and certainly knew how to pose for the camera.
First Photograph Of The Sun
This daguerreotype of the Sun was captured on April 2, 1845, at 9:45 AM by Hippolyte Fizeau and Léon Foucault.
It’s remarkable that even in this early photograph, sunspots are clearly visible.
Oldest Photograph Of New York City
This 1848 photograph captures a New York estate along what was then known as Old Bloomingdale Road, considered a continuation of Broadway.
It’s fascinating to imagine a time when the city existed without cars or cellphones.
Oldest Photograph Of People Drinking
This 1844 photograph captures David Octavius Hill (right) enjoying a drink and a laugh with James Ballantine and Dr. George Bell.
Bell, a commissioner of the 1845 Poor Law, authored Day and Night in the Wynds of Edinburgh.
Ballantine, the son of an Edinburgh brewer, was both a writer and a stained-glass artist. Just friends sharing drinks and good humor.
Oldest Known Picture Of A Native American Village
This daguerreotype of a Cheyenne village at Big Timbers, in present-day Colorado, was captured during the Frémont Expedition in 1853.
Identified by Solomon Carvalho, it is one of the earliest known photographs of a Plains Indian village in what was then Kansas Territory.
Carvalho, a passionate explorer, painter, and photographer, documented the American frontier through his lens.
First Color Photograph
The Tartan Ribbon, captured in 1861 by James Clerk Maxwell, is considered the first color photograph.
Photographer Thomas Sutton took three separate images of the ribbon, each using a different filter—red, green, and blue-violet.
The photos were developed on glass and later projected onto a screen using three projectors, each with the corresponding color filter.
When superimposed, the image revealed the ribbon’s true colors, marking a groundbreaking moment in photographic history.
Oldest Aerial Photograph
“Boston, as the Eagle and the Wild Goose See It” must have been breathtaking for those who saw it for the first time.
Taken in 1860 by James Wallace Black, this aerial photograph of Boston was captured from a hot-air balloon at 1,200 feet.
Black, known for his experimentation and innovation, used eight glass plate negatives (each measuring 10 1/16 x 7 15/16 inches) to create this remarkable early example of aerial photography.
First Colored Landscape Photograph
Louis Ducos du Hauron captured this color photograph of Agen, France, in 1877, with Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d’Agen standing prominently in the scene.
A pioneer of color photography, he detailed his innovative ideas in Les couleurs en photographie, solution du problème, laying the foundation for future advancements in photographic color reproduction.
First High-Speed Photographic Series
Filmed in 1878 by Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion was the first motion picture ever created.
Using multiple cameras in Palo Alto, California, he captured a series of sequential images to study a horse’s gait.
His invention, the zoopraxiscope, allowed him to project these images in rapid succession, pioneering the earliest forms of videography.
First Photograph Of A Tornado
This took a lot of bravery—and probably a lot of whiskey.
Lugging all that heavy equipment to capture a tornado must have had Adams’ friends worried sick.
Those twisters can tear a house right off its foundation.
First “Moving Picture”
In 1888, Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince used a single-lens camera to capture this “film” in the garden of the Whitley family home on Oakwood Grange Road in Roundhay, a suburb of Leeds, Yorkshire.
The footage features Adolphe Le Prince (his son), Mrs. Sarah Whitley (his mother-in-law), Joseph Whitley, and Miss Harriet Hartley—two fleeting seconds of immortality.
First Photograph On A Camera
View from the Window at Le Gras was the first successful permanent photograph, created by Nicéphore Niépce in 1827 in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes.
Sunlight illuminated the buildings on both the left and right, capturing a historic moment in photography.
First Photograph Of Lightning
William Nicholson Jennings (1860–1946) was a Philadelphia-based photographer in the 1890s who experimented with color and lighting.
However, it was his breathtaking shot of lightning that truly stood out.
While capturing such images is easy with modern technology, in the late 1800s, Jennings’ work must have made headlines.
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