LECTURES

Join us in Story Chapel for this talk with Melissa Banta, a Program Officer for Photographs at Harvard University Library Weissman Preservation Center and a consultant for the Historical Collections at Mount Auburn Cemetery. The daguerreotype, the first publicly announced photographic process, provided a new vehicle for capturing signature moments and creating exquisite portraits in the mid-nineteenth century. Today these images are viewed as a window into the past and treasured as unique and rare works of art. During this talk, curator and author Melissa Banta will look at the stories behind the daguerreotypes held by Harvard University. The University’s collections include portraits by noted daguerreotypist of some of Mount Auburn’s well-known figures as well as intriguing uses of the medium for science by Mount Auburn astronomers, naturalists, and physicians. A reception will immediately follow the talk.