America’s foremost photographer cultivated his craft in Greenwich Village. Mathew B. Brady, of Irish descent, was born near Lake George, in Warren County New York circa 1822. As a boy, he met well-known painter and portrait artist William Page. As a result of their friendship, Brady desired to become a painter. Page, who received his art training from Samuel Morse, introduced Brady to the professor sometime in 1839 - around the time Morse embarked on his earliest daguerreotype experiments. Brady developed an interest in these metallic miniatures (daguerreotypes) and received some instruction from Morse in the art of the new photographic process. Professor John W. Draper also advised Mathew Brady in his attempts to learn the practice of daguerreotypy.
Mathew Brady entered the photographic trade in 1843 by working as an independent manufacturer of daguerreotype and jewelry cases at 164 Fulton Street. In April 1844, Morse and Draper’s former pupil opened his “Daguerrean Miniature Gallery” at 205-207 Broadway, at Fulton Street. Brady took advantage of Morse and Draper’s idea of employing a glass house on a roof and rented the top floor of the building at this location, and constructed several skylights to ensure greater illumination. Brady most likely pioneered this method of lighting, which became the common practice in the majority of subsequent and modern photographic studios.
