188-Year-Old Mystery of Photography's First Human Subjects Solved 43 points · 4 visible top comments · 2026-10-24 12:50:42 UTC news.artnet.com · Read Story HN original
tocs3 · 2026-10-24 13:59:01 UTC The photo depicted at the top of the page is flipped vs the one on the plaque?
justincormack · 2026-10-27 14:13:48 UTC I think a daguerrotype might be reversed, as its a direct positive image, so thats probably intentional to match the layout.
voidUpdate · 2026-10-27 14:14:03 UTC Did a bit of googling, it looks like the "traditional" view of the image is mirrored, and the plaque version is what you'd have actually seen.https://mashable.com/archive/first-photograph-of-a-human
WhyComboNadir · 2026-10-27 14:18:38 UTC I wanted to mark it on Google Maps so I don't walk right past it someday in the future. Here's the exact spot/link:https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fut9tktev2qR71tr6
pvo50555 · 2026-10-27 14:39:24 UTC That is the spot where the shoe-shine boy was? Is there a marker for where Daguerre's studio was?
butlike · 2026-10-27 17:29:49 UTC From the angle I'd guess the Daguerre's studio was in what building stood where the Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel now stands.
InsideOutSanta · 2026-10-27 14:56:31 UTC It's kinda wild that the people in this picture will probably be remembered and seen for millennia, and they never knew about their own importance.
wazoox · 2026-10-27 15:46:42 UTC The earliest photograph is more than 10 years older :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nic%C3%A9phore_Ni%C3%A9pce#/me...
aaronbrethorst · 2026-10-27 16:38:58 UTC Yeah, this photo from Daguerre is the first one known to feature a human subject, not the first photo.
Comments
https://mashable.com/archive/first-photograph-of-a-human
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fut9tktev2qR71tr6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nic%C3%A9phore_Ni%C3%A9pce#/me...