How old do you think this photo is?


This is Robert Cornelius, aged 30, standing in the autumn sun outside his father’s family store on 8th street, Philadelphia. This is one of the first pictures he took - its a self portrait.

Answer (highlight to read):

175 years old.

On the back of the image is the inscription “The first ever light picture, 1839″. It is the earliest known self-portrait. Cornelius opened a photographic studio, but closed it after a few years, focusing on his father’s business.

Cornelius died in 1893, aged 84. The original picture is in the collection of the American Philosophical Society

2 comments to How old do you think this photo is?

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