On January 15th 1896 Mathew Brady died, penniless, in the charity ward of Presbyterian Hospital in New York City from complications from a streetcar accident. On that day the world's first photojournalist, who would later be known as one of the greatest photographers of the 19th century, passed.
Born in 1822 Brady had a natural artistic talent and was allowed to study under famous daguerreotypist Samuel Morse. By 1844 he had his own studio in New York and began exhibiting portraits of famous Americans in 1845. In 1850 he produced The Gallery of Illustrious Americans which contained photos of contemporary figures including an aging Andrew Jackson. His work brought a great deal of attention to him boosted his popularity despite the book not being a commercial success. In 1856 he created the first modern advertisement where his ads had different typeface and fonts from the publication's text thereby differentiating if from the core content of the periodical. His greatest impact on the world was about to start, and it would be his downfall.
As the Civil War broke out Brady felt compelled to document it in photographs. Despite the huge physical and financial risks he pressed forward. He is quoted as saying, "I had to go. A spirit in my feet said 'Go,' and I went." In October of 1862 Brady had an exhibition of photos from the Battle of Antietam on his New York Gallery called "The Dead of Antietam". For the first time the general public saw the actual horrors of the war, and not he stylized artist impressions that were so prevalent at the time. Instead of the strong leader guiding troops into battle, there were images of bodies, blood, and disarray. This was the birth of photojournalism. Throughout the process of the war he would capture 10,000 plates at an estimated cost of $100,000 ($1,363,540.22 in today's dollars). His images became the basis of the portrait of Lincoln on the five dollar bill and the penny.
After the war the public had no interest in revisiting the gory details of the war and Brady's popularity dropped drastically. Brady had expected the US Government to purchase the plates after the war, however they refused and Brady was forced into bankruptcy. Many of his negatives were handed over as partial payment of debt.
The negatives passed from many hands and some were destroyed by fire or mishandling. More were lost to the hands of time. It was Edward Bailey Eaton who would discover and appreciate them for what they were. In 1912 he published The Photographic History of the Civil War which cemented Brady's place in history as a photojournalist.
After Brady's death his nephew, Levin Corbin Handy, took over his photography business and expanded upon it with his own images of the construction of the Library of Congress's Thomas Jefferson building. When Handy died in 1932 he left his collection, including Brady's to his daughters, Alice H. Cox and Mary H. Evans. In 1954 the Library of Congress purchase about 10,000 of the negatives and has made a good portion of them available on the internet at http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/222_bradyhandy.html.
Brady's earlier work that was given as payment of debt was purchased by the Library of Congress in 1943 and may be viewed on-line here http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/cwphtml/cwpabt.html At that site you will also be able to view the photographs Brady still had in his possession and sold Congress in 1875 for the sum of $25,000 ($505,881.11 in today's dollars) prior to declaring bankruptcy.
-Professor Walter
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