World Photography Day 2023: India's first 'selfie' was taken by Tripura King and Queen; know all about it

World Photography Day is observed on August 19 every year. As the world is celebrating this day, let us get to know about the history of self-portraits better known as selfies these days. This takes us back to the year 1880, a time when photography was in its nascent stage and the concept of a 'selfie' was yet to be discovered and the term was nowhere close of being coined.

India's first 'selfie'

India's first 'selfie' wasn't taken by a modern smartphone but by Tripura's Maharaja Birchandra Manikya and his queen Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini Devi in 1880. Maharaja Bir Chandra was known as the architect of the modern Agartala. The Maharaja and his queen, trailing a tradition of artistic pursuits, ventured into a remarkable experiment with photography.

Utilizing the technology available during that era, the Maharaja set up a camera and positioned himself alongside his queen. This momentous event marked India's first 'selfie,' albeit a conceptually different one compared to modern understanding.

In the picture, the king has his right arm around his wife's shoulder, and she's holding onto him. At first, you might not think it's a selfie, but if you look closely, you'll notice something interesting. The king is seen holding something in his left hand; it is actually a special lever connected to a long wire, which lets the king control the camera's shutter – the thing that takes the picture.

Assuming by the technology back then, this was a very special kind of selfie, which was more like a self-portrait. Back then, cameras were not like the ones we have now. They were big and needed special things to make them work. But the king and queen were really smart and creative, so they used this special trick to take their picture together.

How were pictures taken in the 1800s?

In the 1800s, photography was still a relatively new and evolving technology. The most common photographic process during that time was the daguerreotype, which was invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced in 1839.

The daguerreotype process produced unique images on polished silver-coated copper plates. To create a daguerreotype, a silver-coated copper plate was sensitized by exposing it to iodine vapours, forming a light-sensitive surface of silver iodide.

This plate was then placed in a camera and exposed to light for an extended period, typically ranging from several seconds to minutes. The light exposure created a latent image on the plate. The plate was then developed by exposing it to mercury vapour, which made the latent image visible. After development, the image was fixed using a solution of sodium thiosulfate to stabilize it and prevent further light exposure. The finished daguerreotype was often gilded and protected behind glass. The process resulted in detailed, one-of-a-kind image that captured moments in time with remarkable clarity.

So, now when you take a selfie with your phone today, you know how the king from Tripura started this cool trend a long, long time ago.

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