What was our
amazement when we drew near the deserted old farmhouse to see a
"daguerreotype saloon" standing before it: one of those peripatetic
studios on wheels, in which "artists" used to journey about the country
taking photographs. Of course, card photographs had not come into vogue
then; but there were the daguerreotypes, and later the tintypes, and
finally the ambrotypes in little black-and-gilt cases.
Those "saloons" were picturesque little contrivances, not much more than
five feet wide by fifteen feet long, and mounted on wheels. On each side
was a little window, and overhead was a larger skylight; a flight of
three steps led up to a narrow door at the rear. The door opened into
the "saloon" proper, where the camera and the visitor's chair stood;
forward of that was the cuddy under the skylight, in which the
photographer did his developing.
The photographer was usually some ambitious young fellow who, after
learning his trade, often made and painted his "saloon" himself.
Frequently he slept in it, and sometimes cooked his meals in it. If he
did not own a horse, he usually made a bargain with some farmer to haul
him to his next stopping place in exchange for taking his picture.
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