That would be Jeremiah Gurney, hailed as "the finest daguerreotypist in Gotham." He opened the first American photo gallery in 1840. His establishment at 349 Broadway in New York "consisted of nine spacious rooms, devoted exclusively to this art."
Previous post about Goldsworthy Gurney, who was operating a steam carriage line in England around the same time.
4 comments:
Any relation?
Katherine, the short answer is yes. The Gurneys came from England in the early 1600s (probably Norwich). Jeremiah's line branched off from mine around 1700, and he was born 17 Oct. 1812 at New Baltimore, NY, right here in the Hudson Valley.
P.T. Barnum, my hero, had the American Museum on the corner of Broadway and Ann Streets. I cannot find the exact street address. Genin hat shop was right next door at 214 Broadway so the American Museum may well have been 200. Not far from Gurney's 349 studio. Mathew Brady was near by as well. Barnum may well have know Jeremiah. Small world.
A nice Gurney Carte de Visite of Charles Dickens is up for auction...
http://www.auctionzip.com/aflive.html?method=getLotInfo&lotref=34899B64F2&utm_source=azemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alerts#.U3bM9LtOWfA
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