A new photo of poet Emily Dickinson has been discovered — maybe. There’s some debate over whether it actually is her, apparently, but if it is… From The Book Haven:
If the daguerreotype is eventually accepted as Dickinson, it will change our idea of her, providing a view of the poet as a mature woman showing striking presence, strength, and serenity. She (whoever she is) seems to be the one in charge here, the one who decided that on a certain day in a certain year, she and her friend would have their likenesses preserved. In fact, even if this photograph is not of Dickinson and Turner, it has still been of use in forcing us to imagine Dickinson as an adult, past the age of the ethereal-looking 16-year-old we have known for so many years.
(Link via @filmdrblog.)
Can a photo, a simple portrait, change our idea about someone like Dickinson very dramatically? Not much is known about her life beyond the work that she left us, so it seems to me as if one image cannot add anything significant to that.
Which entertainment figure from before the advent of photography would you like to see a photo of? Would it change our ideas about him or her?
(If you have a suggestion for a QOTD, feel free to email me. Responses to this QOTD sent by email will be ignored; please post your responses here.)
