11/25/2025
Interesting. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1146458777603815&set=a.556914326558266&type=3
The earliest known photograph of a woman, taken in 1839, shows Dorothy Catherine Draper. Her daguerreotype is also the only surviving contemporary image of anyone wearing an 1830s poke bonnet, a distinctive pre-Victorian hat. The portrait was created at a pivotal moment in the history of photography, just months after Louis Daguerre announced his groundbreaking method for capturing images on silver-plated copper.
Dorothy’s brother, Dr. John William Draper, an early adopter of photographic experimentation, produced the portrait as part of his efforts to refine exposure techniques. At the time, sitting for a daguerreotype was arduous: subjects had to remain perfectly still for extended periods to avoid blur, and strong light was often required. Dorothy’s calm, composed likeness is therefore not only historically significant but also a testament to the technical challenges of early photography.
Beyond its technical importance, the image provides a rare visual record of women’s fashion during the transitional period between the Georgian and Victorian eras. The poke bonnet, already declining in popularity by the 1840s, is preserved here with exceptional clarity, making the portrait valuable to historians of both photography and costume.
