Figure 1.-- Here we have an Argentine cabinet card portrait showing an Italian-Argentine boy in a sailor suit and reefer Jacket. He seems to be a recent immigrant boy becuse he has written an inscription on the back to his uncle in Italian, not Spanish. He has dated the portrait 1893 so we have a date for this style of cabinet card mount. Gran Photographia Platense in Buenos Aires.

The Daguerreotype was introduced to the Río de la Plata area from France, about the same time it reached the United States (1840). Buenos Aires attracted European photographers and led the rest of Latin America in the development of the photographic industry. The industry did not develop as rapidly in Argentina as the United States. It was limited to a small privileged elite who could afford expensive technology, more on the Europen model. It was also limited to technology developed in America and Europe. As a result, we have not yet found any Dags or ambros in geeral circulation. They certainly exist, but the numbers are very small. We only begin to find Argentine images with the development of negative based photography and the albumen process, firt the SDV and then the cabinet card (1860s). This brought down the cost of a photographic portrait to a level that more Argentine families could aford. We have not found many 19th century images, but that is because we have limited access. But we are adding some to our archive. We have been more successful in finding 20th century images. As in Europe and America, postcard back photographs appeared and at the same time snapshots yielding a far larger and richer photographic record.

Created: 1:23 PM 10/21/2016
Last updated: 1:24 PM 10/21/2016