Pic of the Day

1847 Daguerreotype of President James K. Polk and posse

1847 is pretty old for a photograph.

People in the picture, left to right:
Front row
                   Secretary of State James Buchanan
                    Buchanan’s niece Harriet Lane
                     Mrs. Polk’s niece Sarah Polk Rucker
                                First Lady Sarah Childress Polk
                                 President James K. Polk
       widow of James Madison, Dolley Madison
                                         Mrs. Cave Johnson
Back row
                 Postmaster General Cave Johnson
              Secretary of the Navy John Y. Mason

Notes:

• Harriet Lane was Buchanan’s niece and the acting first lady during his presidency (Buchanan never married).
• Johnson was the postmaster when the U.S. Postal Service introduced the postage stamp in 1847.
• Many of the traditions associated with the First Lady of the United States are derived from Dolley Madison.

Via Posthip Scott