An artist specializing in portraits, Isaac A. Wetherby was enthralled by the commercial possibilities of daguerreotyping. As one of the first Bostonian artists to experiment with this new form of art, Wetherby used his “dags” to serve his artwork, painting oil portraits from his photographs. After a successful stint in Louisville, Kentucky, Wetherby began reading Sketches of Iowa – the classic “travel guide” of Dubuque photographer & entrepreneur John Plumbe, Jr. It was this book that stirred Isaac’s dreams of coming west, and by 1854, Wetherby had purchased land in Iowa, and on his first trip, opened up a photography studio – his Daguerrian Room – in a small second-floor office on Clinton Street in Iowa City. Over the next few decades, Isaac Wetherby would become our city’s most prolific 19th-century photographer, leaving for us the oldest known photos of Old Capitol and downtown Iowa City.

CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE BLOG SERIES – Iowa City’s Top 50 Influencers – Part II

Back in 1979 – The Iowa City Press Citizen ran a special seven-page section called Chronology 1841/1979 and it featured Iowa City’s famed historian – Irving Weber – and his look at 25 People Who Left Their Stamp On Iowa City. So, here we are – forty-four years later – and now, I’m offering these two posts – dedicated to those who have greatly influenced our city over the first 100 years or so. This page features the First 25, and as you can see, each of the 25 names has a brief overview with a link(s) to read more, if you like. Enjoy!

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