We have the first photo of dark side of the Moon, the first digital camera in history, and the first photo sent via a mobile phone. However, many questions remain unsolved. Can we talk about a first person? The first car or the first airplane? Or how about the first animal? With this last question, we might get lucky. If the information is correct, that privilege belongs to a group of animals, and believe it or not, they are not cats…
Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs, a gallery located on New York's Park Avenue, organizes a photographic exhibition called 'By Hoof, Paw, Wing or Fin: Creatures in Photographs'. Its fabulous content allows us to explore and study the first photographic records of animals throughout history. Those who have the opportunity to pass by the area should definitely pay a visit, but something changed in recent weeks.
The gallery received a daguerreotype taken by French photographer Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, a true pioneer responsible for the first images in many regions near the Mediterranean, including Greece, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. The official title of the daguerreotype is Roma, Foro, Bueyes, and there you can see a group of oxen (or cows, but most likely they are oxen) lying on the ground, taking a rest.
The Oldest Photo of an Animal?
Now, is it the oldest photograph with an animal? If we rely on the work of Stephen C. Pinson in his book 'Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes of Girault de Prangey', the answer to that question would be affirmative. The French photographer stopped in Rome between April and July, and as far as we know, he only visited that city once. If the daguerreotype is truly his, then it was developed during those four months he spent there.
https://old.neoteo.com/la-primera-foto-subida-a-la-web/Besides being one of the oldest photos with animals, it would also be one of the first in all of history. The French government bought the rights to the daguerreotype and gave them as 'a gift to the world'. Only three years difference between the opening of the daguerreotype and this capture by Girault de Prangey. Naturally, the image was placed alongside the rest of the exhibition, which will extend until next November 15.
Source: PetaPixel
