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Craigdacourt

Daguerreotype
1848 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Horatio Ross could be called the first snapshot photographer. However, because exposure times could typically counted in minutes rather than seconds in the 1840s, he had to pose his subjects in lifelike scenes or tableaux. Ross and his sons were crack shots and represented Scotland as marksmen; here he shows his wife with a rifle, apparently aiming at a stag in a Scottish glen.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCraigdacourt (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Daguerreotype
Brief description
'Craigdacourt', 1848, daguerreotype by Horatio Ross (born Rossie Castle, Angus, 1801, died Rossie Lodge, Invernesshire, 1886)
Physical description
Daguerreotype of a woman at right leaning over a wall aiming her gun at a 'stag', whose antlers are seen at left.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12cm
  • Width: 10.5cm
Gallery label
  • Horatio Ross could be thought of as the first snapshot photographer. However, because exposure times were often counted in minutes rather than fractions of a second in the 1840s, he had to pose his subjects in lifelike scenes or tableaux. He and his sons were crack shots and represented Scotland as marksmen. Here he shows his wife with a rifle, apparently aiming at a stag in a Scottish glen.(2006)
  • Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2011-2012, label text : Horatio Ross (1801-86) ‘Craigdacourt’ 1848 Seemingly spontaneous outdoor views are rare in daguerreotypes, since the process was more easily controlled in a studio. Ross carefully posed his subjects in lifelike scenes or tableaux, such as this image of his wife apparently aiming a rifle at a stag. Ross was an accomplished sportsman, representing Scotland in the National Rifle Association championships in 1863. Daguerreotype Museum no. 246-1946 (07 03 2014)
Credit line
Given by Major Ross 1946
Summary
Horatio Ross could be called the first snapshot photographer. However, because exposure times could typically counted in minutes rather than seconds in the 1840s, he had to pose his subjects in lifelike scenes or tableaux. Ross and his sons were crack shots and represented Scotland as marksmen; here he shows his wife with a rifle, apparently aiming at a stag in a Scottish glen.
Collection
Accession number
246-1946

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Record createdJuly 29, 2003
Record URL
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