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The World’s Oldest Photos of Animals
The oldest existing photos of (mostly) living animals.
In 2015 there were about 6.5 billion cat pictures online. But cat photos are nothing new. We have been photographing our cats, dogs, chickens, and other animals since the introduction of the camera in 1839.
As any pet lover with a camera knows, animals don’t tolerate lengthy photo sessions. During the 1840s and ’50s, the daguerreotype photographic process required at least a few seconds of exposure to develop an image—and up to 10 seconds if the photo wasn’t taken in bright sunlight. Movement resulted in the blurry images seen in some old photographs (and in at least two of the photos on this list.)
All but one of the following photos was taken during the 1840s and 1850s. One of them is the oldest verified animal photo in existence. Two others are the oldest known images of their species. All of them are captivating.
The Poodle With a Bow and a Panting Pointer
The first photograph of a dog is supposedly a daguerreotype titled Poodle With Bow on Table, taken by an unknown photographer in the 1850s. Nothing else is known about the dog, other than it seemed well-behaved (or old) enough to sit patiently for a daguerreotype. The photo was sold at Sotheby’s in 2009 for $8,125.
However, a photo of a dog in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (shown below) is dated 1841–1849. It is credited to Louis-Auguste Bisson, a French photographer famous for his photograph of Chopin. Bisson made the image for his surrogate sister, the painter Rosa Bonheur. If both dog photos are dated correctly, then Bisson’s image is the earliest.
A Thirsty Kitty
