[Portrait of a young man]

Creator

American Daguerreotypist · 1808–1888

Before learning the daguerreotype process in Philadelphia around 1843, Marcus Aurelius Root studied painting and taught penmanship. The following year he became a partner in daguerreotype studios in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans. He later became a partner in Saint Louis, Missouri, and Philadelphia studios. In 1846 Root purchased John Jabez Mayall's studio in Philadelphia. Three years later, in