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[Multiple Exposures of the Moon]

Photography Studio John Jabez Edwin Mayall British
1846–52
Not on view
Eighteen tiny yet detailed impressions of the moon, captured by means of multiple exposure, dot the metal surface of this recently discovered daguerreotype. It was likely made in England by the Frenchman Antoine-François-Jean Claudet. One of the first studio daguerreotypists in London, Claudet experimented with recording ephemeral natural phenomena, including electricity, clouds captured instantaneously, and the sun viewed through fog. The plate is housed in a case bearing the 1846-52 London studio address of John Jabez Edwin Mayall, who worked as an assistant to Claudet in 1846. Claudet’s well-documented scientific experiments with photography—he exhibited a lunar daguerreotype at the 1851 Great Exhibition—make him the more likely author of this image.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Multiple Exposures of the Moon]
  • Artist: Antoine-François-Jean Claudet (French, Lyon 1797–1867London)
  • Photography Studio: John Jabez Edwin Mayall (British, Oldham, Lancashire 1813–1901 West Sussex)
  • Date: 1846–52
  • Medium: Daguerreotype
  • Dimensions: Plate: 2 1/2 × 2 in. (6.4 × 5.1 cm)
    Case (approx.): 5.5 × 2.5 cm (2 3/16 × 1 in.)
  • Classification: Plaquettes
  • Credit Line: The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.47
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
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A. Claudet, F.R.S.: A Memoir
Antoine-François-Jean Claudet
1868
The Chess Players, Antoine-François-Jean Claudet French, Salted paper print from paper negative
The Chess Players
Antoine-François-Jean Claudet
Nicolaas Henneman
ca. 1845
[Mother and Child, Possibly Members of the Claudet Family]
Antoine-François-Jean Claudet
1850s
[Male Portrait, Seated with Hand on Knee]
Antoine-François-Jean Claudet
1853
The Chess Players, Antoine-François-Jean Claudet French, Salted paper print from paper negative
The Chess Players
Antoine-François-Jean Claudet
Nicolaas Henneman
ca. 1845

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