One of the First Photographs of New York Sold at Auction
- by Michael Stillman
1848 Upper Manhattan photograph and close-up, courtesy of Sotheby's.
By Michael Stillman
A remarkable early photograph (daguerreotype) of New York was sold at Sotheby's auction house in that very city on March 30, 2009, over 160 years after it was taken. The photograph sold for $62,500, reflecting both its age and its location. The picture was taken in Manhattan, but that borough looked nothing like it does today.
The time and place of this rare photograph were determined by a note that came with it. Signed by an unknown "L.B." and dated May 1849, it says the photograph was taken the previous October, dating it to 1848. Sotheby's noted that of all the known 1840s and 1850s daguerreotypes of New York City, all of the others are from Lower Manhattan, and only one is older. Lower Manhattan was the city part of New York, while Upper Manhattan, where this picture was taken, was still countryside, dotted by estates of the wealthy, and then farms. This is one of the estates.
The road is described in the note as "a continuation of Broadway." That would be what was then called Bloomingdale Road, which is described in contemporary city directories as an extension of Broadway. This sunken, muddy looking road was one of two main north-south thoroughfares, running up the west side of Manhattan. The road was sunken so that it could remain relatively flat through the hilly Manhattan countryside.
Seen beyond the road and the white picket fence is the country estate. If you click on the thumbnail above left, you will see the complete photograph and a close-up of the house. "L.B." cautions us that because of the angle of the shot, taken from 60 or 70 feet below the building, the lower floor and portico are not visible. In other words, this house was much more impressive than it appears in this shot. The exact location of this house, and the identity of its owner are not known at this time (obviously, there are no other photographs of the area to compare). He certainly must have been one of New York's wealthier and more notable citizens, who would be well known, at least to historians, if he could be identified. Likewise, the photographer is unknown, though his initials may have been L.B.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
