Haas, Philip (1808 - c. 186?)

Philip Haas (1808 - c. 186?) was a German-American daguerreotypist and lithographer active in the mid-19th century. Haas was born in Germany but emigrated to the United States in 1834, rapidly establishing himself as a lithographer and printer in Washington D. C. Between 1834 and 1840 he received several government printing contracts from the U.S. Navy and other offices. Around 1840 he may have traveled to Paris to study the newly invented daguerreotype photo system. His earliest known daguerreotype is dated March of 1843. With his 1843 portrait of president John Quincy Adams, Haas is credited with being the first to transfer a daguerreotype directly to lithographic stone. He relocated to New York City in 1944, opening a daguerreotype gallery on Broadway, which he ran to about 1860. In 1860, at the outbreak of the American Civil War, Haas enlisted with First New York Engineers and was sent to South Carolina. He may have lied about his age, as he was 53 at the time, too old for enlisted service. Taking advantage of his daguerreotyping skills, Haas, produced several important photographs, including images of the U.S.S. New Ironsides in action. Poor health and an end to the war led him to retired on May 25, 1863. The date of his death is unknown.