[Self-portrait of Antoine François Jean Claudet and his son Henri Posed with His Invention, The Focimeter] (Main View)

Antoine Claudet, who learned the daguerreotype process from Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre himself, poses with his son Francis in the richly appointed studio setting that was a trademark of his stereographic portraits. The lush detail of tasseled curtains, parrot, decorated vase, and focimeter--a device to measure distance in order to determine focus--undoubtedly provided a striking effect when the image was viewed in three dimensions through the stereograph viewer. Part of an experiment to measure exact distances in the studio as indicated by the white placard reading "8 IN / 22 feet" in the lower left corners, this portrait underscores Claudet's efforts to ensure the sharp definition of the stereograph image.