Marcus Aurelius Root (1808–1888) was a writing teacher and photographer. He was born in Granville, Ohio and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3]
Root was a leading daguerreotypist in the United States, with studios in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Mobile, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. His studio photographed some of the biggest celebrities of his time, including Edgar Allan Poe, Jenny Lind, P.T. Barnum, General Tom Thumb, presidential candidate Winfield Scott, and Vice President of the United States George M. Dallas.[4]
Portraits on U.S. dollar bills were also taken from daguerreotypes made by Root, including portraits of Henry Clay on the $50 bill and Daniel Webster on the $10 bill. Root is also speculated to have made the portrait of Ulysses Grant on the $50 bill.[5]
He authored an important book on photography entitled The Camera and the Pencil.
- ^ "Marcus Aurelius Root". Luminous Lint. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "Marcus Aurelius Root". The Library Company. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ Granville Times (April 27, 1888). "Marcus Aurelius Root Obituary". Genealogy.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "exhibition: 'daguerreotypes: five decades of collecting' at the smithsonian national portrait gallery, washington, dc". ArtBlart. November 30, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- ^ "Marcus Aurelius Root, American photographer". Sartle. October 29, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2023.