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Scientist in his Laboratory
Dancer, John Benjamin, born 1812 - died 1887 - Enlarge image
Scientist in his Laboratory
- Object:
Photograph
- Date:
1851 (Photographed)
- Artist/Maker:
Dancer, John Benjamin, born 1812 - died 1887 (Photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Daguerreotype stereograph
- Credit Line:
Purchased 1979
- Museum number:
PH.243-1979
- Gallery location:
In Storage
John Benjamin Dancer made scientific and optical instruments professionally, and was also an inventor with a strong interest in photography. Experimenting with photographic media, he wrote that 'the accounts given of the beautiful pictures [daguerreotypes] induced me to abandon the photographic paper process'. This hand-painted daguerreotype was made for friends, probably to showcase his achievements. The sitter, posing as a scientist, is shown making a pair of daguerreotypes. He is surrounded by some of Dancer's inventions and other scientific instruments.
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