On Friday, while trekking to town for provisions, I heard a segment on The Story about a treasure in my own backyard.
!!**WARNING: you are about to enter a photo geekery zone.**!!
In the collection of the Cincinnati public library is a panoramic cityscape consisting of 8 dageurreotype plates. This panorama is apparently the oldest "comprehensive" photograph of an American city. Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter made the panorama, capturing about 2 miles of the Cincinnati waterfront, on September 24, 1848, from the Newport, KY side of the Ohio River. The Dageurreotype of Cincinnati won awards and crossed the ocean to hang on display at the Crystal Palace, London.
The original panorama is on display at the library (I can go see it!) along with an interactive digital component that allows the viewer to zoom in on details within the plates and, at least in the online version, click on points of interest which produce informative pop-up windows.
The podcast for The Story does not seem to include the daguerreotype segment, but here's a lecture about the panorama by Patricia Van Skaik, Manager of the Genealogy & Local History Department at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
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