The Story of Capitol Gallery
In the 1850s, J H. Taylor operated a thriving daguerreotype studio called Capitol Gallery, across from the Illinois State Capitol and just blocks away from the home of Abraham & Mary Todd Lincoln. The Gallery provided photographic services to the town residents as well as to statehouse inhabitants and visitors. Other daguerreotypists working in Springfield at that time included Preston Butler, W.B. Farnham, owner of the National Gallery, John G. Stewart, H. S. Booth and Mrs. D. Martin. In 1855 Taylor took on a partner, August Duboce, who expanded Capitol Gallery’s services to include ambrotypes, tintypes, CDVs, cabinet cards and stereoviews.
For over 25 years Capitol Gallery has incorporated this great heritage to offer a comprehensive range of 19th century photographic fine art and related ephemera. We maintain an inventory of hard images such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes, and a diverse selection of paper photography including CDVs, cabinet cards, albumen and gelatin silver prints, photogravurers and woodburytypes, by American, English and European photographers.
As one of the Midwest’s preeminent dealers in images cases, we also offer one of the finest selections of thermoplastic frames and cases. Bridging the historical gap, Capitol Gallery also offers a selection of turn-of-the-century and 20th century photography by American and European artists. After being down the street from the original Capitol Gallery for over 14 years, we moved to the beautiful hills of West Virginia in the fall of 2008. We maintain close ties to our Capitol Gallery heritage and our friends in Springfield and the Midwest, while exploring our surroundings here in the Mountaineer state.