This daguerreotype image is the property of Albert Kaplan. He is convinced that it is of Richard Wagner taken in Hamburg in March or April 1844.
Unfortunately provenance has not been established and the debate is currently around the similarity or otherwise of various facial features.
The January issue of Wagner News has an article (pdf or Word) raising some of the salient issues and there is further discussion on the Wagnerheim website.
The topic has also been highlighted on the Wagnerian website. This latter site is updated on the Wagner Society website via the Links sidebar menu.
More detail is available on Albert Kaplan's site
If you have some thoughts why not put them into our Members’ Forum?
26th Dec A new analysis has just been published by Peter Bassett of the Victoria Wagner Society concluding that the image cannot be of Richard Wagner. Click here and then vote in our poll.
