The Missouri Historical Society has a unique collection of mid-19th century daguerreotypes by photographer Thomas Easterly who lived and ran a photography studio in Saint Louis from 1848 to the late 1870s. Unlike most daguerreotypists of the era who focused on portraiture, Easterly also extensively photographed landscapes and cityscapes, mostly of the St Louis area. In the late 1860’s he captured images of the destruction of the largest Mississippian mound in St Louis - referred to as the “Big Mound”. His photographs of the Big Mound’s demise is a stark and very sad reminder of the rapid destruction of these magnificent edifices in the 19th century.
