The Staff of the Express , n.d., quarter plate - Unidentified Artist

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Editor, n.d., quarter plate - Unidentified Artist

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Woman and Child, n.d., sixth plate - Jeremiah Gurney

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Still Life with Pumpkin, Book, and Sweet Potato, n.d., ninth plate - Unidentified Artist

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Audio

This audio is a collection of excerpts from a talk Merry Foresta, co-coordinator of the "Secrets" exhibition, gave to docents of the National Museum of American Art to prepare them for visitors to the exhibit.

All of the audio provided at this site is encoded in a called RealAudio. Download a copy of the RealAudio player at this location.

Secrets of the Dark Chamber (0:39)
What is the 'Dark Chamber' and the 'secret' it possesses?

America Searches (0:49)
At the time Daguerreotypes made their appearance in America it was already involved in its own revolution of growth. Listen how America was ready for this new technology.

Morse meets Daguerre (1:19)
While in Paris in 1838 to secure a French patent for the telegraph, Samuel Morse heard about Daguerre and his wonderful pictures. Listen how he brought the technology of the Daguerreotype to America.

Daguerreotypes (1:08)
are posed images. And because so many of their makers are unknown, and their subjects cannot be identified, we become reliant on the autonomy of the image itself. Portraits such as Woman Writing Letters are signals of some larger meaning: a lover's secret message, a public announcement, the description of thought. They embody the subject of communication itself, which survives the lost context of the making of these images.

Two types of Daguerreotypists (1:36)
There were different approaches to this new art. Find out how environment helped to shape both the content and commerce related to Daguerreotypes.

Finding its Face (1:07)
Listen about the transitions of a country and this new art form.

Daguerreotypes help to forge (1:19)
Listen how Daguerreotypes moved alongside the pioneers of the land as they moved from East to West.

Occupationals (0:28)
Listen in as Merry elaborates on what makes an Occupational.

Daguerreotypes created opportunity (1:38)
The impact of Daguerreotypes on business was strong. Even a town was named after them!

Past, Present and Future (1:12)
The relationship of science and art connects with the milestones of invention often. Hear how the Internet is joined with the Daguerreotype.

The exhibition's design (0:51)
Exposing these sensitive and fragile objects caused great concern to the curatorial team. Learn how they utilized a ground-breaking design using fiber optics to bring this show to light

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