Almanac of Story Tellers: Mathew Brady

Every day brings a new story.  And each day contributes to the art of story telling -- in prose and poetry, in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books. 

Today is the story of May 18th

 ___________________________________________________________________________

    It is the 138th day of the year, leaving 227 days remaining in 2022.

    On this date (perhaps) in either 1822, 1823, or 1824, the famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady was born.

    Actually, when -- and even where -- he was born is disputed. May 18 is often given as the date, but the year is generally given as 1822 or 1824. Sometimes, 1823 is cited. Even the place of his birth is questioned -- Warren County, in upstate New York, claims him as native son. But on several U.S. Census forms, Brady himself said he was born in Ireland. He later changed that to New York.

    Regardless, we know this: During his life, Brady told his stories through the artistry of photography. He is credited as one of the first photographers, and acclaimed for his portraits of presidents and generals, as well as his photography of the U.S. Civil War. He is often called the father of photojournalism.

    After working under famed portrait artist William Page and inventor Samuel Morse, Brady opened his own studios in New York and Washington starting in 1844. There, he used the new technology of daguerreotype to take and exhibit photographs.

    He was good at it, and set himself apart and expanded his offerings by selling small photographs known as "visit cards." One day in early 1860, a fellow by the name of Abraham Lincoln stopped by Brady's studio to have his portrait taken.

    Brady did not always take the photos credited to him, sometimes assigning the task to someone under his direction. But he took the Lincoln portrait.

    A year later, as the Civil War began, Brady followed, taking photographs of generals and common soldiers, and helping to develop the photos on the battlefield that he or one of his assistants would shoot. 

    When his Washington gallery manager Alexander Gardner took photos of dead soldiers lying on the battlefield at Antietam, Brady exhibited them at his New York studios.

    The pictures were among the first war photographs taken, and they managed to convey the horror and depravity of war to many who had never seen it. His photographs are used to this day to accompany stories and lives lost during the Civil War.

    Brady died in 1896 in New York.