Think about every photograph you have ever taken or seen of a woman. Have you ever stopped to wonder who took it, if you didn’t? Have you ever wondered “Who took the first known, surviving photograph of a woman, in all of history? What did she look like? Who was she?” 

Now you know. In 1840, Dorothy Catherine Draper was photographed by her brother, John William Draper. (J. Draper was also the first person to photograph the Moon.)

I am just marveling at how quietly momentous this seems. The first real, clear photograph of a woman’s face. It’s so commonplace now, but seeing this picture really stirs something in me.

(Source: carolathhabsburg, via slowlylosinglolita)