10 Facts About William Shew

William Shew was a prominent American photographer in the 19th century.

William Shew made a name for himself as a Daguerrotype portrait artist in the United States.

William Shew studied daguerrotype photography with Samuel F B Morse, as did his brothers Truman, Jacob, and Myron.

All four of the Shew brothers worked for photographer John Plumbe, who opened studios in various cities; William Shew worked in Plumbe's Boston studio from 1841 to 1844 before setting up his own daguerreian case manufacturing business, William Shew and Company, and pursuing studio work in partnership with daguerreotypist Marsena Cannon.

In 1851, William Shew followed his brother Jacob to California and set up a studio in San Francisco; he became well known for his portrait work.

William Shew was recruited by John Wesley Jones to take daguerreotypes of California for Jones's planned Great Pantoscope of California, the Rocky Mountains, Salt Lake City, Nebraska and Kansas.

William Shew later occupied studios in more orthodox addresses along Clay, Montgomery, and Kearny streets.

William Shew is presumed the author of a July 1854 article "Photography" in The Pioneer, or, California Monthly Magazine in which he commented on the current state of photographic art and daguerreotype studios.

William Shew was active in local political and social groups in the 1850s and 1860s, holding the first San Francisco Free-Soil Convention at his rooms on the Plaza ; he served briefly on the Board of Education and hosted meetings of the Temperance Society.

William Shew was the most successful of the Shew brothers in photography; Truman died young, Jacob suffered financial losses and committed suicide in 1879, and Myron worked in a variety of jobs including photography, manufacturing, and merchandising.