Unidentified photographer 1845-1846 The Building of the Barentin Viaduct
Daguerreotype Archives de la Seine-Maritime Several workers, on the scaffold and on the bridge itself, as well as a well-dressed couple, are watching the camera, probably posing. The daguerreotype had been devised in 1839, and photos of construction sites were a rarity at this early stage.
For background to the Baratin Viaduct:
Fabrice Bensimon, February 2023, "‘The three principal manufactories at Paris are conducted by Englishmen’: The Sectors of Workers’ Emigration" in Artisans Abroad, pp. 56-74
