PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Long before smartphones and social media made selfies a daily habit, a Philadelphia man created what many historians consider the world’s first photographic selfportrait.<\/p>\n
Robert Cornelius, the son of a Philadelphia lamp maker, became involved in early photographic experiments after the daguerreotype process – the first photographic method – arrived from France in 1839.<\/p>\n
“The original influencer didn’t have followers,” the report noted. “Robert Cornelius had patience.”<\/p>\n
Joanna Dunphy, artistic director of Historic Philadelphia, said Cornelius quickly embraced the emerging technology.<\/p>\n
“Robert Cornelius was so excited about this idea that he decided to try it out himself. He did not have the camera,” Dunphy said.<\/p>\n
Using a homemade camera and the daguerreotype process, Cornelius created what is widely recognized as the first photographic selfportrait.<\/p>\n
Dunphy said the process required subjects to remain still for an extended period.<\/p>\n
“And to take it to a daguerreotype, you need to be still for about five to 15 minutes depending on the amount of light. And so Robert Alias takes his contraption outside of his parent’s shop on 8th Street and sets it up and he poses,” Dunphy said.<\/p>\n
“And he takes the very first selfie,” she added.<\/p>\n
The image was created decades before the word “selfie” entered the popular lexicon. Still, the photograph is often viewed as an early predecessor to the modern selfportrait taken with a smartphone.<\/p>\n
“Who would have thought that the first selfie was taken in Philadelphia?” Dunphy said.<\/p>\n
She noted that Cornelius likely viewed the image as a scientific achievement rather than a personal milestone.<\/p>\n
“I’m pretty sure that he didn’t set all that up and said, ‘oh look at me. I took the first selfie,’ mostly because the word didn’t exist, but he did write on the back of his photo, the first light photograph,” Dunphy said.<\/p>\n
Today, selfies can be taken in an instant and shared around the world. Nearly 200 years ago, however, Cornelius’ selfportrait required a homemade camera, a complicated chemical process and several minutes of stillness.<\/p>\n
What began as an early photographic experiment has become a routine part of everyday life, with roots that trace back to Philadelphia and one of the earliest pioneers of photography.<\/p>\n
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