by David J. Eicher
The first photograph ever taken of the Moon that now survives, made by Samuel D. Humphrey at Canandaigua, New York, on September 1, 1849. This was made on a highly polished, silver plated copper sheet measuring 2.75 by 1.75 inches. Humphrey exposed the plate to the Moon nine times, at varying exposures of 0.5 second to 2 minutes. The finished daguerreotype was then sent to Harvard College Observatory, where it is still stored. Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 19, 2013.