Buchanan's Inauguration
Inauguration of James Buchanan,
President of the United States,
at the east front of the U. S. Capitol
Albumen print, March 4, 1857
Manuscript Division (88A)
Content
|
Montgomery C. Meigs (1816-1892), the Supervisory Engineer of
the Capitol expansion, pasted the first-known photograph of an
inauguration beside his journal entry for March 4, 1857. Photographer,
John Wood, experimented with the photographic process in anticipation
of documenting James Buchanan's (1791-1868) inauguration. Meigs
wrote: "Mr. Wood has been trying some photography process of great
speed for the purpose of taking a view of the inauguration. He
made a view of the front of the Capitol in which the figures are,
many of them, quite distinct. It took about 4 seconds."
|