Possible photograph of Joseph

[Emower]

I found this article today spacing out when I should have been working.

http://www.brunson20.com/2013/05/the-jo ... graph.html

I have always been curious about what Joseph looked like and the daguerreotype of the portrait just has never satisfied me. I bet this has made the rounds before, but this is the first I learned about it.

[Palerider]

I've seen this before as well. I could be wrong but to me it looks more likely to be one of his relatives or possibly a son.

Having seen his death mask up close the two just don't look like a match to me, even taking into consideration that there are a number of years between the two. Too much difference in facial structure.

That being said, the daguerreotype usually attributed to him looks as though it's been phonied up somehow.

I suppose it's anyone's guess without having proper provenance on the photo.

[Red Ryder]

I like the Richard Moll daguerreotype the best:

[Random]

Reminds me of Vincent Price.

[moksha]

Joseph Smith 2017
He gets handsomer and blonder with each makeover



Emma with Joseph wearing Nauvoo Legion uniform

[Hagoth]

The Community of Christ seems to be pretty convinced by this photograph. I would really like to know if it's legit. From the deathmask we know that Joseph wasn't quite the stunner we see in much of the art. What struck me when I saw this photos was that I remembered descriptions of Joseph having thick eyebrows, something that we see in the photo but not in most of the paintings.

I totally agree with RR that the daguerreotype "usually attributed to him looks as though it's been phonied up somehow," but that's a different image. We are also used to seeing Joseph portrayed with blonde hair but artistic portraits from his lifetime show him with darker hair, as seen in this photographic image. Some also described him as having somewhat stooped shoulders, something else that's missing from all of the art but is represented in this image.

When I look at this photo of the death mask it really doesn't seem that much of a stretch.

But who knows.

[Palerider]

After re-examining the photo compared to the death mask I would have to say that the mouth is quite convincing. The part that throws me is that the nose in the photo looks too narrow or pinched to be the same nose as that from the death mask. The end of Joseph's proboscis is fuller and less pointed.

That being said, People's noses and ears have a tendency to "fill" and get longer as they age but the difference in age between the person in the photo and that of the death mask isn't really that great. Maybe 10 years?

I still think, and maybe someone has already run this down, that the best way to establish who is in the photo would be through provenance.
The CofC says that some "family" donated the photo claiming that it was Joseph Smith. With a little bit of serious digging in their family history, it should be possible to at least track down how the way the photo was received and preserved. There may be clues someone is overlooking. Most photo frames have the photographer's establishment engraved somewhere. Did it even have a frame. Where did great, great, grandpa say the photo came from? Provenance would help a lot.

[Emower]

I like the Richard Moll daguerreotype the best:

I like this one. He looks pretty good here.

When I look at this photo of the death mask it really doesn't seem that much of a stretch.

But who knows.

I compare them and can totally see how they are similar.

[Hagoth]

I compare them and can totally see how they are similar.

Ha ha! Good point. How about these:

[ulmite]

I'll buy it. The line and point analysis checks through, and my first impressions of the photograph were "That does look like Joseph".

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Either this is really Joseph, in which case we are A.O.K. because he was not dead and in heaven or dead and buried when it was taken, or this is a likeness of the dead Prophet and we are soooo screwed!

[AllieOop]

I found this article today spacing out when I should have been working.

http://www.brunson20.com/2013/05/the-jo ... graph.html

I have always been curious about what Joseph looked like and the daguerreotype of the portrait just has never satisfied me. I bet this has made the rounds before, but this is the first I learned about it.

I think that John Hamer posted that it had been determined this was not Joseph Smith, but I can't remember if they knew who it was.

Hopefully, he will see this and post!