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Niagara Falls

Attributed to Platt D. Babbitt American
ca. 1855
Not on view
In 1853, long before it became commonplace for tourists to make snapshots of one another standing in front of Saint Peter's, the Eiffel Tower, or the Parthenon, Platt Babbitt set up business in an open pavilion at Niagara Falls' prime viewing point. His impressive daguerreotypes and ambrotypes allowed visitors to take home not only a view of the spectacular Falls and a memory of the misty air and roaring sound, but also the undeniable proof that they themselves had stood at its very edge.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Niagara Falls
  • Artist: Attributed to Platt D. Babbitt (American, active 1840s–70s)
  • Date: ca. 1855
  • Medium: Ambrotype
  • Dimensions: visible: 13.2 x 18.3 cm (5 3/16 x 7 3/16 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: The Rubel Collection, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.382.49
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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The Niagara Falls, Platt D. Babbitt American, Daguerreotype
The Niagara Falls
Platt D. Babbitt
ca. 1850
Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American
Powder Horn
American
18th century
John Stoneacre Ellis, Ambrotype, velvet, leather, American
John Stoneacre Ellis
American
dated 1859
Niagara Falls from the Canadian Side, Platt D. Babbitt American, Daguerreotype
Niagara Falls from the Canadian Side
Attributed to Platt D. Babbitt
Former Attribution Southworth and Hawes
ca. 1850–1855
Figured bottle, Blown-molded glass, American
Figured bottle
American
1850–60

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