Leavitt Hunt facts for kids

Leavitt Hunt's signature

Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt, photographed by Leavitt Hunt in 1852. He was the first American to photograph the Middle East.

Leavitt Hunt (1831–1907) was an American lawyer and a very early photographer. He was one of the first people to take pictures in the Middle East. In 1851–1852, he traveled with a friend, Nathan Flint Baker, on a "Grand Tour." This trip took them to Egypt, the Holy Land, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece.

They created some of the first photographic records of these ancient places. Their photos included famous sites like the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and the Parthenon in Greece.

About Leavitt Hunt's Early Life

Leavitt Hunt was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1831. He was the youngest son of Jonathan Hunt, a well-known politician from Vermont. His mother was Jane Maria Leavitt. Leavitt also had two famous brothers: Richard Morris Hunt, an architect, and William Morris Hunt, a painter.

After his father passed away, Leavitt grew up in Paris, France. He attended the Boston Latin School and a Swiss boarding school. He later earned a law degree from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He also studied at the Swiss Military Academy. Leavitt was very smart and could speak many languages, including French, German, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He could even write in Persian and Sanskrit!

Exploring the Middle East

In 1851, Leavitt Hunt decided to join his friend, Nathan Flint Baker, on a trip. Baker was a wealthy sculptor from Ohio. They met in Florence, Italy, in September 1851.

Before their big adventure, Hunt and Baker spent several weeks in Rome. There, they practiced their photography skills. Then, they sailed from Naples to Malta. From there, they traveled up the Nile River into the Sinai Peninsula.

Their journey took them to many amazing places. They were among the first to photograph the ancient ruins at Petra. They also visited Jerusalem, Lebanon, Constantinople (now Istanbul), and Athens. They returned to Paris in May 1852.

Pioneering Photography

Hunt and Baker's photographs were truly amazing for their time. Photography was a very new technology, and many people had never seen real photos before. They captured stunning images of the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza. They also photographed the grand temples at Karnak and the Ramesseum at Thebes.

Their journey continued to the ruins on the Island of Philae. They also photographed Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai. In Petra, they captured the unique tombs and temples. In Jerusalem, they photographed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They also visited the ruins at Baalbek and the famous buildings of the Acropolis in Athens.

About 60 of their photographs from this trip still exist today. These pictures show that Hunt and Baker were skilled photographers. They worked together, combining their talents to create beautiful and important images. One photo of a Middle Eastern woman is likely the earliest photographic portrait of its kind.

The Journey's Challenges

This trip was not easy to plan or carry out. For part of the journey, Leavitt's older brother, Richard Morris Hunt, joined them. Two other friends also came along. The group hired a special boat called a dahaheah and a crew of 13 Egyptians. This allowed them to travel down the Nile River.

While Leavitt and Baker took photos, Richard Morris Hunt, who later became a famous architect, made sketches and paintings. The results of their trip were later shown in an exhibition in Washington, D.C.

After their long journey, Hunt and Baker returned to Paris. They developed their negatives, which were quite large (18x24 cm). They used a special "waxed-paper process" for this. Each man kept a personal album of the prints. Leavitt Hunt even showed his photos to a famous German explorer, Alexander von Humboldt. The King of Prussia was so impressed that Hunt gave 11 prints to Karl Richard Lepsius, a German expert on ancient Egypt.

Life After the Trip

After their amazing journey, Leavitt Hunt and Nathan Baker went their separate ways. Baker returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, to enjoy his life. Hunt, however, finished his studies at the Swiss Military Institute. Then, he came back to America and earned another law degree from Harvard University.

He started working as a lawyer in New York City. But when the American Civil War began, he joined the army. He started as a lieutenant and showed great bravery. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill. Eventually, he became a full colonel in the Union Army.

After the Civil War, Leavitt Hunt returned to his law practice in New York City. In 1867, he retired and moved to Weathersfield, Vermont. His wife, Katherine Jarvis, had inherited a large estate there.

Leavitt Hunt bought his own estate nearby, which he called Elmsholme. He became a gentleman farmer, raising special types of Dutch cattle. He also grew white pine forests on his land. During his retirement, Hunt also became an inventor and received patents for new plows.

Leavitt Hunt's Legacy

It seems that neither Leavitt Hunt nor Nathan Baker continued with photography after their famous trip. Their original prints are very rare and valuable today. Leavitt Hunt's personal photo album is now at the Bennington Art Museum in Bennington, Vermont. Baker's album, sadly, has disappeared. Some of the photos given to the Egyptologist Richard Lepsius are now at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany.

Leavitt Hunt's original negatives are believed to be lost. However, the prints he made were passed down to his brother, Richard Morris Hunt. These are now kept at the American Architectural Foundation in Washington, D.C.. In 1999, an exhibition called "A Voyage of Discovery: The Nile Journal of Richard Morris Hunt" showcased 70 of Leavitt Hunt's original photographs.

Some of Leavitt Hunt's personal prints were given to the Library of Congress after his death. They are part of the library's permanent photo collection. Other original prints from his Middle East trip can be found at the Hallmark Photographic Collection and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. Harvard University also owns some of the works by Hunt and Baker.

Even though Leavitt Hunt stopped taking photos, he remained interested in the arts throughout his life. He corresponded with other thinkers and artists of his time. He and his wife traveled often and he even wrote poetry.

Leavitt Hunt had two sons who also became notable. Clyde du Vernet Hunt became a painter and sculptor. Jarvis Hunt became a well-known architect in Chicago. A portrait of Leavitt Hunt, painted by his brother William Morris Hunt in 1874, is in the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro.

Leavitt Hunt passed away on February 16, 1907, in Weathersfield, Vermont. His wife, Katherine, died in 1916. They are both buried in Weathersfield, along with their infant son, Morris.

Images for kids

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  The Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramid at Giza, photographed by Leavitt Hunt around 1852.

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  Artist Clyde du Vernet Hunt, Leavitt Hunt's son, in his Paris studio, around 1900.

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  American architect Richard Morris Hunt, painted by John Singer Sargent. Richard Morris Hunt traveled with his brother Leavitt down the Nile in 1853.