On March 4th, 1857, while the Capitol building was still under construction, James Buchanan was sworn in as the 15th President of the United States of America. The 1850s were a significant period in photography. The wet collodion process was invented in 1851. It gave photographers the ability to make direct contact prints from glass negatives.
You needed to take a whole darkroom around with you to do it, though. Long exposures were still often necessary, as one would typically work with ISO rating of 6 or less. But it finally allowed photographers to document many things for the first time. Including the presidential inauguration of James Buchanan. Created by John Wood, working for the Montgomery C. Meigs at the Architect of the Capitol.
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