Henry Draper
Full Moon

Public Domain

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Artist Henry DraperAmerican, 1837–1882

Publisher Bierstadt Bros.American, active 1850s–1860s

Retailer Underwood & UnderwoodAmerican, active 1882–1940s

CultureAmerican

Titles

Full Moon
Luna Llena

Date1850s–1860s

Published inNiagara Falls, New York, United States

MediumAlbumen silver print, stereograph

DimensionsImage: 3 1/8 × 5 7/8 in. (7.9 × 15 cm)
Sheet: 3 1/8 × 5 7/8 in. (7.9 × 15 cm)
Mount: 3 1/2 × 7 in. (8.9 × 17.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of William J. Hill

Object number2004.1223

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

Henry Draper followed in the footsteps of his father, John
William Draper, the first man to produce a photograph of the moon through a
telescope. The younger Draper was determined to improve upon the work of his
father. He built two observatories at the family home in Hastings, New York,
and engineered mechanical tracking mechanisms for his telescopes, making
possible clear exposures of up to three hours. In 1863, Draper, along with his
wife, Anna Mary Palmer, took photographs of the moon that were more detailed
than any previously taken. The topography is made more vivid by the
three-dimensional effect of the stereograph.

ProvenanceWilliam J. Hill, Houston; given to MFAH, 2004.
Exhibition History"Shooting the Moon: Photographs from the Museum's Collection 50 Years after Apollo 11," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 20–September 2, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Printed in black, recto of mount, left edge: C. Bierstadt, Publisher // Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Printed in black, recto of mount, right edge: Sold only by Underwood & Underwood, // Liverpool, -New York, -Chicago, - Toronto, -Ottawa, Kas, - El Paso, Tex.
Printed in black, recto of mount, lower left below image: LUNA LLENA
In negatives, recto left and right below each image: FULL MOON. // FROM NEGATIVES TAKEN BY PROF. H. DRAPER, // WITH HIS SILVERED GLASS TELESCOPE. // PUBLISHED BY C. BIERSTADT, NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.

[no verso inscriptions]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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