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These Are The 17 Oldest Surviving Photographs Known To Humankind, And They're Stunning

Photography has influenced society since its inception in the 11th century. The oldest photographs depict fascinating details about life before pictures were common. From historical war photos to amazing images of space, the earliest surviving pictures known to humans have a profound and engaging aura. The earliest camera, the “camera obscura,” only projected images onto other surfaces, and upside down at that. However, in the early 19th century, photography as we know it was born. French photographer Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a portable version of the camera obscura, lithographic stones, and bitumen to capture an image. This became the first incarnation of permanent photography. The images in this list are some of the oldest photographs, and most of them are the first of their kind. From the first picture ever taken by Niépce to the first movie, these images capture the development of permanent photography throughout the course of the 19th century.

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  1. 1

    First Photograph On A Camera

    View from the Window at Le Gras, 1826, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France

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  2. 2

    First Reliably Dated Daguerreotype

    L’Atelier de l'artiste, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, 1837

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  3. 3

    First Photograph With A Human In It (Bottom Left Corner)

    Boulevard du Temple, 1838, Paris, France

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  4. 4

    First Self-Portrait Photograph

    "Robert Cornelius, head-and-shoulders [self-]portrait, facing front, with arms crossed," 1839, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

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  5. 5

    Oldest Surviving Photograph Of A Woman

    Dorothy Catherine Draper, John William Draper, 1839-1840

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  6. 6

    Oldest Surviving Photograph Of The Moon

    1840, rooftop observatory at NYU, New York, US

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  7. 7

    Oldest Photograph Of A US President

    Photograph of President John Quincy Adams, 1843, United States

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  8. 8

    Oldest Photograph Of People Drinking

    Edinburgh Ale, 1844, Edinburgh, Scotland

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  9. 9

    First Photograph Of The Sun

    Image of the Sun, 1845, Paris, France

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  10. 10

    Oldest Photograph Of New York City

    1848, Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York, US

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