George Bancroft

Published between 1834 and 1874, George Bancroft’s ten-volume History of the United States established its author as the undisputed “Father of American History.” The celebratory tone of Bancroft’s epic narrative reflected his firm belief in America’s democratic ideals and his conviction that the historian’s work should serve a high moral purpose. Bancroft’s writings earned him favor with Jacksonian democrats and propelled his rise to prominence within the Democratic Party. Appointed secretary of the navy by President James K. Polk in 1845, Bancroft was chosen by Polk a year later to serve as United States minister to the Court of St. James’s in London.

Pioneering daguerreotypist and photographic entrepreneur John Plumbe Jr. opened his first studio in Boston in 1840 and went on to create a chain of twenty-five daguerreian establishments throughout the United States. In addition to producing and exhibiting daguerreotypes of eminent Americans in his galleries, Plumbe sought to market the images to a wider audience by issuing lithographic prints based on his daguerreotypes. He called the prints “plumbeotypes” and announced plans to begin offering them to subscribers in January 1847. This original daguerreotype of George Bancroft—made before his departure for London—served as the source image for one of the “plumbeotype” prints.