Samuel Bemis

Who was Samuel Bemis?

Dr. Samuel A. Bemis was one of the earliest photographers in the United States. A small number of his daguerreotypes have survived.

Bemis was a Boston dentist when in April 1840 he acquired an early camera and became one of the first Americans to take a photograph. His extant daguerreotypes include views of Boston and of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. These images are the earliest known American photographs of natural landscapes.

Bemis's interest in photography began in March 1840 when he attended a series of lectures and demonstration of the daguerreotype process given by François Fauvel-Gouraud, a pupil of Louis-Jacques Mandé Daguerre and an agent for Alphonse Giroux & Cie., sole manufacturers of equipment endorsed by Daguerre.

Bemis bought his daguerreotype camera from Gouraud for $51, along with twelve daguerreotype plates at $2 each. His total investment was $76, a considerable sum. Four days later, on April 19, 1840, Bemis made his first daguerreotype. His early pictures were taken in Boston. When summer came, he photographed in the White Mountains around Crawford Notch, where he had recently relocated.