Goran Malić, photography historian

National Centre of Photography

Belgrade, Serbia

THE ERA OF THE DAGUERREOTYPE IN SERBIAN

PHOTOGRAPHY FROM 1839 TO 1855

After the announcement of the daguerreotype in January 1839

and its public presentation in August 1839, where the invention was
explained in detail and prepared for use, the world started showing
interest in this new image-capturing medium. The first handbooks with
technical descriptions of the procedure started sweeping across Europe
and travelling daguerreotype experts arrived at even the furthest and
most distant ports.
The first piece of news printed in Serbian regarding the invention
of the daguerreotype, was published in April 18391. After that, Serbian
newspapers followed the happenings in connection with inventor
Daguerre, his inventions and the progress of the technique. Readers
found that a daguerreotype photograph can be printed2 and Daguerre’s
Diorama3 burned down.. Between 1840 and 1855, nine
daguerreotypists, who directly or indirectly entered their names into the
history of Serbian photography, emerged from Serbian Princedom as
well as in the wider Serbian cultural area, which included countries in
which the Serbian nation lived in the 19th century.
We do not know much about Dimitrij Novaković, the first Serbian
daguerreotypist. A small excerpt from the Serbske narodne novine
informs us that he is a “trader and Serb from Zagreb”4 and after his

1
Magazin za hudoželstvo, knjižestvo i modu (Magazine for theatre, literature and fashion),
Budim, 28 (Apr 5, 1839), 112.
2
Serbskij narodnij list, 39, Budim (1839), 308.
3
Serbske narodne novine, 19, Pest (Nov 3, 1839), 75.
4
Serbske narodne novine, 37, Pest (May 12, 1840).

1
return from Paris he photographed part of Belgrade using a silver-
coated copper plate. He presented the photograph to Prince Mihailo as
a gift. The newspaper also states that Novaković learned about
daguerreotype photography at one of Daguerre’s presentations of the
invention in Paris, in autumn 18395. The news was not able to travel
quickly from Belgrade to Pest, where the newspaper was printed;
therefore, we can assume that the first Serbian daguerreotype, which
has not been preserved, was created in early spring 1840.
Anastas Jovanović was born in 1817 in Vraca, the area of the
Turkish Empire that is now Bulgaria. He spent his youth in Serbia and
studied in Vienna, where he spent most of his creative life working in
lithography and photography. At the invitation of Prince Mihailo
Obrenović to become his court custodian, Jovanović returned to
Belgrade in 1859. He died in 1899. In 1841, he bought a daguerreotype
camera - the Voigtlaender No. 3
and, in autumn, arrived in
Belgrade. He was a guest at Prince
Mihailo’s court and used this
opportunity to ask the Prince to
pose for him in front of a
daguerreotype camera; however
“the photo did not actually
succeed”6. The National Museum
in Belgrade keeps Jovanović’s
daguerreotype photo, which presents the image of a Serbian citizen7.

5
Ivan Kukuljević – Sakcinski, Slovnik umjetnikah jugoslavenskih, zv. II, Zagreb, 1858;
Nada Grčević, Fotografija devetnaestog stoljeća u Hrvatskoj (19th Century Photography in
Croatia), Zagreb, 1981, 12. and op. 7, 8; Milanka Todić, Istorija srpske fotografije (History of
Serbian Photography) 1839-1940, Belgrade, 1993, 19.
6
“Avtobiografija Anastasa Jovanovića” (Anastas Jovanović's Autobiography, edited by
Ljubomir Nikić), Godišnjak Muzeja mesta Beograd (Annual publication of Belgrade's City
Museum), knj. III. City Museum of Belgrade, 1956, 385-416.
7
“Avtoportret Anastasa Jovanovića” (Self-portrait of Anastas Jovanović), 1841,
daguerreotype, National Museum, Belgrade.

2
 Josip Kappileri, the travelling daguerreotypist, came to Belgrade
from the Hapsburg Monarchy. In 18448, he advertised his new
daguerreotype machine in three advertisements. The exposure with this
machine lasted only 20 to 40 seconds. The price of each daguerreotype
photograph was between five and eight silver forint and depended on
the number of people in the photo. Not even one of Kappileri’s
daguerreotype artefacts has been preserved.
On the completely opposite western side of Serbia, Milorad
Medaković, a Zermanja Serb, learned the daguerreotype process very
early on. He was born in 1823 in Zvonigrad, Lika and during his early
years, worked as a teacher in Cetinje and later as a secretary of
ethnarchy for Petar II Petrović Njegoš. Even later still, he was active in
journalism, becoming a renowned historian. He died in Belgrade in
1897. Njegoš sent Medaković to Dubrovnik so he could learn the
daguerreotype process. In ten days, Medaković learnt well to
“photograph faces using the daguerreotype process” and returned to
Cetinje on December 18th9. The scope and recognition of his work are
not known, since his daguerreotype work has not been preserved.
In autumn 1847, Josip Kallein, another travelling photographer,
came to Belgrade10. He informed the readers of Srbske novine that he
“makes portraits on glass and silver and teaches oriental painting and
drawing on glass and daguerreotype”11. This is the first known writing of
the offer for teaching photography in Serbia. An important fact is that
Kallein made portraits on glass, which is the first news on the
emergence of this kind of photography in Serbia. Today, we know what
this method of glass usage is, since in the same year (1847), a
Frenchman, Abel Niepce de Saint-Victor, notified the French Academy

8
Srbske novine, Belgrade, (Aug 26, Sept 6, Sept 9, 1844). Oglasi (Advertisements).
9
Petar Petrović Njegoš, Izbrana pisma (Selected Letters), nav. delo, note on page 268.
10
An advertisement in Agramer Zeitung (Zagreb newspaper), also speaks of the travelling
spirit of Josip Kallein, 170 (July 27, 1853), 610.
11
Srbske novine (Oct 24, 1847).

3
of Science on his attempts of photography on a glass surface12. The
work of J. Kallein has also not been preserved.
We can make assumptions about the beginnings of the
photography work of Đorđe Knežević on the basis of two
advertisements. In an advertisement from 1855 he states that he “has
been active in miracle photography art for six years”13 and in another
from 1870, he says that he is an “academic painter” who currently
works in Šabac and has been active in the field of photography for 22
years14. This could mean that his practical work started in the era of the
daguerreotype during 1848 and 1849. It is not known if his
daguerreotype work ever even existed.
In 1849, two years after Kallein, daguerreotypist Adolf Deitsch
came to Serbia. He advertised his services in newspapers15, first in
Belgrade and later in Vojvodina16. He announced that any person who
admires art can learn the daguerreotype process in a very short time
and can buy a daguerreotype machine17. Deitsch published another
advertisement, in which he announced photography as “a new manner
of portraying persons on paper with the help of rays of light”18. This is
the first time that the word for "photography" was used in Serbian as

12
Comptes rendus de l'Academie de Sciences (Report of the Academy of Science), Paris,
Oct 25, 1847, his work in detail described in: Comptes rendus … (Report…), June 12, 1848,
in: A New History of Photography, issued by Michael Frizot, Köln 1998, 91. Let us not forget
the photography attempts on glass, made by Janez Puhar 1842-43; see: Mirko Kambič, “Janez
Puhar, izumitelj fotografije na steklo 1814-1864” (Janez Puhar, inventor of photography on
glass 1814-1864), 150 let fotografije na Slovenskem (150 years of photography in Slovenia),
1839-1919, Ljubljana, 1989, 15-17, however, Puhar's achievements had not received great
recognition among professionals or photography amateurs until 1852.
13
Gross Becskereker Wochenblatt, The Great Becskerek (August 1855); in: Zoltan
Kalapiš, Bečkerečki svetlopisac (Photographer from Bečkerek), Novi Sad – Belgrade, 1986, 11.
14
Srbske novine, 68, 71-73 (1870). Oglasi (Advertisements).
15
Srbske novine, No. 105, 106, 107, 124, 127 (1849), 394; the same; 112 (1849); 388; the
same, 45 (1845), 164; the same, 47 (1850), 176; the same, 56 (1850), 208.
16
Z. Kalapiš, 16, 17.
17
Branibor Debeljković, Stara srbska fotografija (Old Serbian Photography), Belgrade,
1977, 9.
18
Srbske novine (May 8, May 11, May 18, 1850).

4
well as being the first introduction of the collotype technique, which had
not been used until then.
Orthodox priest and church painter Milija Marković19 responded
to Deitsch’s advertisement in May 1850, after being inspired by the offer
for learning how to create a daguerreotype. Obviously he was very
pleased with the new “painting” technique; he publicly thanked Deitsch
in an advertisement, adding that, from Deitsch, he “bought a good
camera and learned the daguerreotype technique in 14 days”20.
Deitsch’s work has also not been preserved.
The final person who worked in the era of daguerreotype, is
Ištvan Oldal. He was born in 1829 in Segedin, Hungary. He learned
painting at Karoly Sutter (pronounced Schuter). After the revolution in
1848 he moved to Veliki Bečkerek and opened an art studio in 1853. At
the beginning of the following year he commenced his work in the area
of photography. He died in 1916. Two daguerreotype portraits (circa
1855) were found at the residence of Oldal’s grandson, Solnok, in
Hungary, and remained there until the death of his grandson in 1983,
after which both portraits disappeared21. There is no reliable evidence
that these are truly Oldal’s works, however, this possibility is not
excluded. In the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, one daguerreotype
is preserved, probably from 185522, which is also ascribed to Oldal.
Other contributions by Oldal in the era of the daguerreotype are not
recorded. There is no record anywhere in printed media regarding the
emergence of new daguerreotypes after 1855; therefore, the fifteen-
year period of the daguerreotype in the history of Serbian photography
ends here.

19
Marković family was a family of church painters and Orthodox priests from Požarevac;
besides father Nikola and son Milija Marković, several church painters originated from this
family.
20
Srbske novine (April 15, 1850), 176.
21
Z. Kalapiš, nav. delo, 21.
22
“Dva muškarca i žena” (Two men and a woman), circa 1855, daguerreotype, Museum of
Vojvodina, Novi Sad, in: Z. Kalapiš, nav. Delo, panel on page 35.

5
 Only two pieces23 from the nine daguerreotypists have been
preserved, while the work of other creators is known only from written
sources. Other daguerreotype work has also been found in the Serbian
cultural area dating back to the mentioned era. Some works are of local
origin, while others arrived from various directions. According to our
research, 33 daguerreotype works have been recorded; four specimens
are preserved in museum collections and the remaining 29 are privately
owned.
A daguerreotype featuring the breast of a young woman24 arrived at
the Applied Art Museum in Belgrade in 1989. It was preserved only as a
reprint after being stolen from the exhibition “Stoletje filma” (A Century
of Film)25 in 1996. After this event, Jugoslovanska kinoteka purchased a
new daguerreotype for the museum26. One daguerreotype is kept at the
Museum of History in Belgrade; however, there is no specific data or
description known27. Another daguerreotype portrait from the waist up
featuring a trader Josim Živanović28, is kept in Sremski Karlovci. Stevan
Ristić29 owns the daguerreotype portrait of an unknown man from the

23
See note 7 and 22.
24
“Portret iz Vršca” (Portrait from Vršac), circa 1850, daguerreotype, Modern Art
Museum, Belgrade, inv. No. 16043, preserved on reproduction in Fotografija kod Srba
(Photography at Serbs) 1839-1989, zv. 69, Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Science and Art,
1991, panel in colours on page 14, cat. No. 144.
25
The exhibition was held in the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Science and Art in
1995 at the 100th anniversary of the first film projection with the help of a cinematographic
projector.
26
“Portret neznanega moškega” (Portrait of an Unknown Man), circa 1850,
daguerreotype. Applied Art Museum, Belgrade, inv. No. 22273. Published in: Petinpetdeset let
Muzeja uporabne umetnosti 1950-2005 (Fifty-five Years of Applied Art Museum 1950-2005),
Belgrade, 2005, 140-141.
27
Data taken from website of the Museum of History of Serbia (Istorijski muzej Srbije) in
Belgrade: http://www.imus.org.yu/imus0031.htm. (Accessed: 2008, Sept, 12.)
28
Živanović family from Sremski Karlovci has a collection of documents, publications and
tools from the field of apiculture of the 19th and 20th century along with a collection that is
available to the public (the Museum of Apiculture), which mentions this particular
daguerreotype.
29
Stevan Ristić (1931) from Belgrade, was the secretary of the Association of Photography
of Yugoslavia and vice-president of Federation International d'Art Photographique (FIAP) for
several years.

6
waist up30. Art collector Predrag Milosavljević31 also owns a similar type
of daguerreotype portrait. The private collection “Zbirka srbskih
svetlopisov”32 (Collection of Serbian Photographs) contains 27
daguerreotypes. These are mostly portraits; one exception is a stereo-
daguerreotype (originating from France) that presents the reclining
image of a nude girl. A small number of pieces of equipment contain the
labels of studios from the USA33.
The majority of all mentioned daguerreotype work kept in Serbia has
no surviving record; therefore it is difficult to establish the origin, place
and time of emergence as well as whom the subjects are. It is obvious
that some photographs were brought from abroad; there is a possibility
that the subjects or their relatives and ancestors brought these
photographs themselves. In conclusion, we can summarise that the
research of the daguerreotype era in Serbian photography is only
occasional and that very little has been published in connection with this
subject. Opportunities to research the era of the daguerreotype and,
with the help of accessible work, to create a complete album of
photographers, types and styles, were missed. By studying these
works, and with the help of parallel historical studies of photography in
neighbouring countries and the history of European photography, new
possibilities to acquire new knowledge from this pioneer era of
photography will emerge; namely, not only technical and technological
knowledge, but also the knowledge of a wider social and historical
character.

30
Unknown artist, Portret starijeg muškarca (Portrait of an Elderly Man), circa 1845-
1850, daguerreotype, Stevan Ristić, Belgrade. This daguerreotype is mentioned in: Goran
Malić, “Koliko dagerotipij imamo?” (How many dageuerreotypes do we have?), Refoto, 52
(October 2008), 40.
31
Predrag Milosavljević Preža, professor of literature, retired journalist from Belgrade.
32
“Zbirka srbskih svetlopisov” (photographs) (ZSS) belongs to Aleksander M. Trbović
from Belgrade. The collection contains daguerreotypes and rare works of other techniques
from the history of photography.
33
Including the work of Mathew B. Brady Washington, Van Loan Gallery Philadelphia,
W. H. White, Fish & Co's Daguerrian Rooms Boston studios and some others.

7
 This artcle is published under the original title
“Obdobje dagerotipije v srpski fotografiji od 1839 do
1855”, in Slovenian language, (and "The era of the
Daguerreotype in Serbian Photography from 1839 to
1855, the English language), in: Fotografija od
Janeza Puharja do prve svetovne vojne : simpozij,
27. november 2008. – Kranj, Gorenjska Museum,
2008, pp. 91-97 (Slovene translation), and pp. 98-
104 (English translation). ISBN 978-961-6479-23-6.
Ills.: Anastas Jovanović, Self Portrait, 1841,
daguerreotypes, National Museum, Belgrade.

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