Image: Daguerreotype tintype photographer model studio table brady stand cast iron portrait photos

Description: Cast iron "Brady stand" side table. As perhaps the best-known US photographer in the 19th century, it was Mathew Brady's name that came to be attached to the era's heavy specialized end tables which were factory-made specifically for use by portrait photographers. Such a "Brady stand" of the mid-19th century typically had a weighty cast iron base for stability, plus an adjustable-height single-column pipe leg for dual use as either a portrait model's armrest or (when fully extended and fitted with a brace attachment rather than the usual tabletop) as a neckrest.[1] The latter was often needed to keep models steady during the longer exposure times of early photography.[2] While Brady stand is a convenient term for these trade-specific articles of studio equipment, there is no proven connection between Brady himself and the Brady stand's invention circa 1855.[3]A Brady stand is clearly visible in use in context in the late 19th century period novelty photo of a "photographer photographing himself" see Commons image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photographer-studio-1893.jpg Notes ↑ Macy, et al, "Macy Photographic Studio's Dispatch(, The)", Northampton MA, Spring-Summer 1913, pg 2 ↑ ibid., pg 3 ↑ ibid., pg 2
Title: Daguerreotype tintype photographer model studio table brady stand cast iron portrait photos
Credit: Own work
Author: Composite assembled by Cramyourspam, vintage photos by Anonymous 1864 photographer, Anonymous mid 19th century tintype photographer
Permission: PD-retouched-user
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No