Daily AncestorDaguerreotypist
A daguerreotypist made daguerreotypes, the first popular photographs, each a one-of-a-kind image on a polished, silver-coated copper plate.
The daguerreotype process was introduced in 1839 and was the main kind of portrait photograph in the 1840s and early 1850s. By about 1856 cheaper processes such as the ambrotype had largely replaced it.
So the occupation turns up mostly in the 1850 and 1860 census and in city directories of that time. Many daguerreotypists traveled from town to town, setting up a studio for a few weeks.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 and 1860 census
Saml. Bates, 30, Daguerreotypist, N.Y.
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Daguerreotypist." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/daguerreotypist. Last checked 2026-10-01.