Early daguerreotype of the Moon in leather case; size 5" x 4" (front missing). M.F.H. Cat. No. 37.

A daguerreotype of the moon taken in 1851 by John Adams Whipple (1822-1891) and George Phillips Bond (1825-1865). Whipple, working with Bond, the director of Harvard College Observatory, endeavoured (and eventually succeeded) in creating lunar daguerreotypes of a quality never seen before. Following several failed attempts, this successful photograph probably occurred after a slight adjustment the men made to the focus and resolution of the Harvard telescope. One of Whipple and Bond's lunar daguerreotypes was shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it won a medal.