HARTFORD — The Connecticut Historical Society is showcasing one of America’s first black photographers with the exhibition “A Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington, African American Daguerreotypist.” The collection is on view through May 2.

The exhibition tells the story of Augustus Washington’s life (1820/21-1875) as a free black in the antebellum North; as a portrait photographer and owner of one of the most successful studios in Hartford; and as a planter, politician and newspaper editor in the West African nation of Liberia after his emigration there in 1853.

The exhibition includes 33 images, most of which are on view for the first time. Only 49 daguerreotypes by or attributed to Washington have been located, of which seven are in the collection of Connecticut Historical Society.

Born in Trenton, N.J., in either 1820 or 1820, Washington was the son of an African-American father and former slave, and an Asian mother. While little is known of his childhood, Washington did receive a solid primary education, and in his early teens was profoundly influenced by his reading of anti-slavery publications.

Eager to discover how he “might best contribute to elevate the social and political position of the oppressed and unfortunate people with whom I am identified,” Washington sought his answer in education.

On December 24, 1846, Washington advertised the services of his new daguerreotype enterprise in the pages of Connecticut’s antislavery newspaper, The Charter Oak. Several months later, Hartford’s city directories carried the first listings identifying Washington as a daguerreotypist and documented the relocation of his studio from 9 Waverly Building to the Kellogg Building at 136 Main Street.

Approximately 25 daguerreotype studios operated in Hartford between 1840 to 1855. Competition was keen, and most of these studios were in business only a few months. In contrast, Washington Daguerrean Gallery operated successfully for more than six years. Washington’s sitters included many members of Hartford’s elite, such as Eliphalet A. Bulkeley, the founder of Aetna Insurance Company, and the poetand author Lydia Sigourney.

In late 1853, Augustus Washington sailed for Liberia, accompanied by his family and carrying sufficient photographic supplies to enable him to resume, albeit temporarily, his career as a daguerreotypist. Once in Liberia, Washington opened a daguerrean studio and prospered. He later enlarged the scope of his business by traveling to Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Senegal.

While he undertook several commissions to produce daguerreotype views of Liberia’s capitol city of Monrovia and for some time maintained a fairly active portrait business, Washington believed his future lay in helping develop Liberia’s agricultural resources and soon turned his energies almost exclusively to farming. The last reference to his work as a photographer dates from December 1857, when he exhibited at Liberia’s First National Fair.

By 1864, Washington was a member of the Liberian Legislature and his prosperous farm employed as many as 50 workers. In 1868, he paid a long-awaited visit to the United States, by which time he had gained the speakership of the Liberian House of Representatives.

Washington never regretted his decision to emigrate to Liberia, and when he died on June 7, 1875, his death was mourned as “a severe loss to western Africa.”

Connecticut Historical Society is at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford. Exhibition hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 pm; admission is free the first weekend of each month. For additional information, call 860/236-5621.