THOMPSON & DAVIS

164 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York 1854-1855

Ninth-plate daguerreotype of an unidentified woman by Thompson & Davis.

Josiah W. Thompson is a relatively unknown entity from the Daguerreian era, and little apparatus or materials bearing his name survive today. His name is more frequently seen on daguerreotypes, taken at various New York City addresses on Broadway and Fulton Street over the course of his career. As a daguerreotypist, Thompson was also known to partner with Samuel Root and Joseph D. Davis. Davis' name has been found stamped on daguerreotype mats along with Thompson's name, with a 164 Fulton Street, Brooklyn address. Per Craig's Daguerreian Registry, Davis partnered with Thompson in 1854-1855. He was also a business partner with Henry W. Rockwell, another dealer in daguerreian apparatus during the mid-1850's, who also operated as a daguerreotypist at 419 Broadway during the late 1850's and early 1860's.

Probably owing to their brief association, images by Thompson & Davis are almost never seen.