This iconic portrait of the French inventor of photography, Louis Daguerre, bears the blind stamp of Pierre-Ambroise Richebourg, who was among the first and most successful professional photogra­phers, having received instruction directly from Daguerre. Here, dressed in gentlemanly attire and decorated as an officer in the Legion of Honor, Daguerre poses with an air of self-assurance before the camera. This print reproduces a daguerreotype of the inventor, the authorship of which is unclear.