Early Maine Photography

This quarter-plate daguerreotype of an elderly couple was taken by Portland daguerrian Samuel L. Carleton.
Carleton was a local photographer and instructor who arrived in Portland from Boston in 1845. He operated various studios on Middle Street throughout his Portland career. The daguerreotypes's mat was stamped "S. L. Carleton" on the lower left corner, and "Portland ME" at the lower right.

Around the year 1848, Portland photographer Samuel Carleton (1822-1908) captured this sixth plate bust portrait of an unidentified woman. A felt insert within the image's leatherette case reads the words "Carleton / Artist / Portland." In 1847-1848 city directory, Carleton was listed at 49 Middle Street, at his "Great Daguerrian or Heliographic Gallery."

Samuel L. Carleton, a daguerreotypist whose worked in Portland from 1847-1848 at 49 Middle Street and from 1852-1859 at 80 Middle Street, made this image of an unidentified woman.

The woman's cheeks and curtains behind her are tinted. Tinting, which was popular with consumers but not with art critics, was achieved by wetting the surface of the picture and applying dry powdered pigment with a fine-pointed brush.

During the 1840s and 50s, Portland was the largest center of photography in the state. For much of that time, the market was dominated by Samuel L. Carleton (active 1846-ca.1860) and George M. Howe (active 1850-1867)

A popular daguerreotypist, Samuel L. Carleton studied his trade in Boston before relocating to Portland in 1845. This daguerreotype of an unidentified woman was taken at Carleton's studio at 80 Middle Street.

Samuel. L. Carleton, a daguerreian who learned the trade in Boston before relocating to Portland's Middle Street in 1845, created this portrait of an unidentified woman.
In 1847-1848, Carleton was listed at 49 Middle Street, at the "Great Daguerrian or Heliographic Gallery," where he offered instruction in the art.

A popular daguerreotypist, Samuel L. Carleton studied his trade in Boston before relocating to Portland in 1845. This daguerreotype of an unidentified woman was taken at Carleton's studio at 80 Middle Street.

Carleton was proud of his longevity in the industry; he advertised in an 1852 Portland Transcript that he had "stood the test for most seven years, in this city, as a Daguerreotypist, and despite all opposition, having executed about thirty thousand likenesses..."

A ninth plate image of a young woman was photographed by George W. Campbell of South Berwick. Photographers in smaller communities sometimes relied on painted backgrounds in place of the more expensive drapes and furniture. In this ambrotype, a young woman was photographed against a freely painted backdrop resembling the decorative wall paintings of the period. The maker's card reads "George W. Campbell, Photograph and Ambrotype Artists, over I. G. Tompson's Store, South Berwick, ME."

John Chase of Unity was photographed in front a painted maritime-themed backdrop. Photographers in smaller communities sometimes relied on painted backgrounds in place of the more expensive drapes and furniture.

A fireman from Skowhegan wore his fire helmet when he posed in front of a seascape backdrop for this studio portrait. Portions of his clothing have been hand-colored in red and his cheeks in pink. Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth has noted that membership in local fire companies was a particular matter of pride in Maine during this era, and it was common for men to take their picture in uniform.