Likeness and Landscape

Book excerpt: Described by his contemporaries as Daguerre's most dedicated follower, Thomas M. Easterly did most of his work in the relative obscurity of St. Louis. This lavishly illustrated account of his twenty-seven-year career established him as a new master in the ranks of nineteenth-century photographers. It will be an essential addition to the libraries of scholars and collectors. Easterly's subjects range far beyond the traditional daguerrean portrait. Of his surviving inventory of over 600 plates in the collection of the Missouri Historical Society, over 140 are views of St. Louis, his native New England, and the Niagara Falls region of New York. Three series of American Indian portraits constitute the earliest dated photographic record of Plains tribal members. A series of studio portraits of ordinary people and celebrities demonstrate a remarkable mastery of technique placing Easterly decades ahead of his time.