View of Whitehall From Trafalgar Square, London, 1839

The daguerreotype was the first photographic process, publicized in January 1839. It was named after its inventor, Louis Daguerre. Just a few weeks after the French Government revealed the secrets of daguerreotypy in Paris in August 1839, Monsieur de St Croix organized the first public demonstration of the process in London. This is therefore among the very first photographs taken in London.

View of Whitehall from Trafalgar Square which is blurred with pedestrian and carriage traffic, London, 1839. (Daguerreotype by M de St Croix)

The statue in the foreground is Le Sueur’s statue of Charles I on horseback, and in the distance Inigo Jones’ Banqueting House – practically everything else shown in the image has subsequently disappeared. The image has been reversed to show the scene as it was, as daguerreotypes only produce reversed views.