Robert Cornelius

Besides being the first ever portraitist, Robert Cornelius was a pioneer who gave the daguerrotype its much needed finesse. Raj Lalwani rewinds.

- Raj Lalwani

Recently, the legendary S Paul uploaded a self portrait of his, on Facebook. It was shot in 1963, and shows the photographer, elegantly posing in a suit in front of arches, wearing his camera. Minutes after, someone commented, “The era when selfies used to be classy.” I was reminded of an amusing, albeit photographically rich Tumblr blog, called ‘My Daguerrotype Boyfriend—Where Early Photography Meets Extreme Hotness’. A blog that calls a certain Robert Cornelius as the ‘original daguerreotype BF’.

Cornelius, of course, is the chemist who shot the world’s first ever photo that portrayed a person’s face, a few months after Louis Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype process in 1839. It was a self portrait, of him gazing pensively, unlike the duck-faced selfies that dominate our visual feeds today. Cornelius wasn’t just a first mover. His metallurgy skills and specialisation in silver plating ensured that his daguerreotype advancements laid great importance on both technical sophistication and aesthetics.

A Relentless, but Realistic Innovator