Victorian Fathers Hidden in Photos of Their Babies

The daguerreotypes that became publicly available during the 1840s had exposure times from tens of seconds to several minutes. While exposure times shrank as photographic technology developed, to get a clear picture of a child during the 19th century the child had to be persuaded to stay still, which could be difficult to achieve. One technique was for the mother or sometimes the father to be hidden within the frame, often behind curtains, under cloaks, or disguised as chairs.