*Un giorno nella vita di John B. Roberts, fotografo di Clyde, contea di Wayne, New York*
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Nel febbraio 1861, il presidente eletto Abraham Lincoln attraversa lo Stato di New York in treno, fermandosi brevemente in ogni villaggio del Canale Erie. A Clyde, contea di Wayne, un giovane fotografo allestisce il suo apparecchio sul marciapiede della stazione, sperando di cogliere un ritratto al volo. Si chiama John Benson Roberts. Nato nel 1837, muore a trentun anni. Le sue fotografie — ritratti di studio, carte-de-visite, un Frederick Douglass, un’alluvione di Rochester — attraversano la guerra civile americana senza un clamore particolare.
Ma è proprio la discrezione della sua biografia a renderla preziosa. Roberts è l’emblema di una generazione di fotografi di provincia che, negli anni 1860, imparano il mestiere lungo le stazioni di posta, rilevano gli studi dei colleghi anziani, partecipano al grande mercato delle immagini commemorative — Lincoln assassinato, ritratti di soldati dell’Unione — senza mai essere *noti*. Il suo lavoro sopravvive in collezioni disperse, nei registri del New York Military Museum di Albany, nelle aste americane. La sua vita sopravvive nel censimento federale del 1850, nelle lapidi del cimitero di Mount Hope di Rochester, nei ritagli del *Clyde Weekly Times* e del *Lyons Republican*.
Questa serie — in italiano nelle pagine della rivista, in inglese nelle newsletter — ricompone frammento per frammento la sua cronologia. Si pubblica nell’ordine in cui le fonti emergono, non in quello della sua biografia; si legge volentieri nell’altro senso, come un feuilleton dell’Ottocento che il lettore rimonta a ritroso.
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17.04.2026 – Once Upon a Time in Wayne County: The Curious Case of John B. Roberts, Enthusiastic Republican Photographer
This is the second episode of One Day in the Life of John B. Roberts, picking up where our Lyons Republican story left off and following a young canal‑town photographer into the years of Lincoln, the Civil War and Frederick Douglass.
Feuilleton — Un giorno nella vita di John B. Roberts
Clyde e Lyons, nella contea di Wayne, New York, sono due comunità gemellate la cui identità ruota attorno a una sottile distinzione : Clyde rimane un villaggio incorporato nella città di Galen, mentre Lyons, a lungo capoluogo della contea e un tempo villaggio incorporato, è ora una frazione della ci
22.02.2026 One hundred and sixty five years ago: The Lyons Republican, 22 February 1861
THE LYONS REPUBLICAN Clyde, Lyons, Galen, Wayne, New York, The Empire State Clyde and Lyons, in Wayne County, New York, are paired communities whose identities pivot on a subtle distinction: Clyde remains an incorporated village within the Town of Galen, while Lyons, long the county seat and once an incorporated village, is now a hamlet […]
Carnevale 2026. Feuilleton — Un giorno nella vita di John B. Roberts
John Benson Roberts nacque nel 1837 nello Stato di New York, figlio di William P. Roberts e Disa Benson.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 1: An Inquiry into Method
Digital technologies and artificial intelligence have transformed methods for identifying portraits, art, and ancient documents. While they offer new opportunities, they also introduce complexities.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 13: Timeline of Lincoln Portraits and Various Perspectives
Lincoln’s first recorded portrait was taken after his election to Congress, at age 37. Gibson Harris, a law student who worked in Lincoln’s office from 1845 to 1847, was a friend and roommate of Nicholas H.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 12: Facial Features
The subject daguerreotype portrait is seen from a low angle, approximately 8°. Among all known Abraham Lincoln portraits, there are no comparable examples.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 11: Physical Evidence
Dimensions of the leather case: 94 x 80 x 14 mm. Dimensions of the brass frame: 82 x 70 mm.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 10: The Photographer and His Notable Patron
The village of Clyde, like many small American towns, had a single photographic studio that saw a succession of operators. Wayne Morrison’s research provides a detailed account of the photographers who worked in Clyde’s Daguerreian Gallery:
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 9: The Stop at Clyde
The Village of Clyde, situated on the Clyde River, is part of the Town of Galen in Wayne County, New York. Located on the county’s southern border and west of Syracuse, Clyde had a population of 2,093 in 2010, while the town’s population was 4,290.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 8: Diverse Perspectives
Abraham Lincoln’s humble beginnings in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor in 1809 became a powerful symbol of his rise to the presidency. This narrative of Lincoln as a self-made man was reinforced by the stark contrast between his origins and his later achievements.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 7: Journalists on Board
The birth name of Henry Villard was Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard, from the German city of Speyer. As a teenager, he emigrated to the United States in the 1850s without his parents’ knowledge.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 5: 1,900 Miles in 12 Days
The route chosen for the journey to Washington was a somewhat circuitous one, traversing the States of Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and passing through Maryland to the District of Columbia. It seems to have been the desire of Mr.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 4: A Discovery at a Manhattan Photo Fair
An anonymous image surfaced during a bustling New York photo fair, coinciding with the AIPAD event at Pier 94. This chapter retraces the circumstances of that discovery and then turns to a key objection that every observer, at first sight, raises: «Just one more Lincoln look-alike?»
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 3: False Hopes and True Disappointments
Identification and analysis of old photographs is a patient art; one is often surprised to understand how different one’s neighbor’s vision can be. Six examples follow of collectors or researchers who believed they had found a daguerreotype representing Lincoln.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 2: The Only Known Lincoln Portrait in Daguerreotype
Iconographers agree on only three daguerreotypes of Abraham Lincoln, but only one is an original portrait. We nearly lost the name of its creator entirely.
Lost Daguerreotype — Draft – Episode 1: An Inquiry into Method
Digital technologies and artificial intelligence have transformed methods for identifying portraits, art, and ancient documents. While they offer new opportunities, they also introduce complexities.
Lost Daguerreotype — DRAFT -Episode 10: The Photographer and His Notable Patron
The village of Clyde, like many small American towns, had a single photographic studio that saw a succession of operators. Wayne Morrison’s research provides a detailed account of the photographers who worked in Clyde’s Daguerreian Gallery: