Marcus Aurelius Root

[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.

On June 20, 1846, he bought John Jabez Edwin Mayall's Chestnut Street photography studio that was in the same building as Root's residence in Philadelphia.

Root's left leg was crushed and the thigh was severely fractured, leaving him crippled for the rest of his life.

[9] [10] During his lengthy recovery, Root authored an exhaustive history of American photography, a book entitled The Camera and the Pencil.

[11] After falling from a streetcar in 1885 he spent the rest of his life in seclusion until he died from his injuries three years later, at his home in Philadelphia, on April 2, 1888.