Top 11 Photos That Were Historical Firsts

2. Oldest Photograph of New York City

The oldest known photo of New York City was taken back in 1848, but apparently it wasn’t actually the first. According to the New-York Historical Society, the first picture of NYC was taken by Samuel F.B. Morse, but it has been lost.

Anyway, this picture shows a white house on a hill, in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and it’s definitely not how we expected to see NYC even during the 1840s. However, Upper Manhattan was still considered countryside during that time, it was the place where wealthy people used to have their properties or farms.

The photographer is unknown, except for his/her initials: L.B. In 2009, this photograph was sold at an auction for $62,500.