This photo of the Alamo is the oldest known image of Texas

The 1849 daguerreotype is the earliest datable photograph taken in Texas. It shows the front of the Alamo chapel. It is the only known photograph of the Alamo taken before the 1850 reconstruction that added the distinctive curved gable to the top of the church facade. less The 1849 daguerreotype is the earliest datable photograph taken in Texas. It shows the front of the Alamo chapel. It is the only known photograph of the Alamo taken before the 1850 reconstruction that added the ... more Photo: Briscoe Center For American History Photo: Briscoe Center For American History Image 1 of / 51 Caption Close This photo of the Alamo is the oldest known image of Texas 1 / 51 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — The oldest dated photo of Texas was taken in San Antonio in 1849 and shows three men in front of the state's most precious landmark: the Alamo.

The photo, which now resides at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, is actually a daguerreotype - the first widely available photographic process, which popularized in the mid-1840s.

The image was taken 13 years after the after the famous Battle of The Alamo between the attacking Mexican forces, commanded by General Antonio López de Santa Anna, and defending Texan forces co-commanded by William Travis and James Bowie, according to the museum.

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See how well the Alamo has been preserved during the last 150 years

The photo is the only known photograph of the Alamo prior to its reconstruction in 1850, in which the U.S. Army added the famed parapet, or arch running along the church's facade - creating the iconic outline of the shrine that exists today.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the former longtime custodians of the Alamo, provided some other intriguing images of the Alamo, some dating back to the 1850s and 1860s, which are part of their "Early San Antonio Views" collection that you can see in the gallery above.

From cattle-drawn carriages in front the Alamo to a photo of Commerce Street and the San Antonio River in 1850, the collection of photos at the Alamo Research Center (the former DRT Library, located at the Alamo) is a terrific glimpse into the rich history of San Antonio and Texas.

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Some of these images have provided a blueprint for preservationists to keep the Alamo looking nearly the same as it did more than 150 years ago, said Leslie Stapleton, the director of the research center. Ownership of the library collection at the Alamo is the subject of a pending lawsuit filed in March by the DRT and the Texas General Land Office, custodian of the state-owned Alamo complex.

Many of the photos were published in the San Antonio Express-News in 1917. In some ways, though, they remain a mystery.

According to the DRT, the photographic process and "the photographer who made them have been matters of curiosity and study for many years. Some have thought the prints might be salted paper; others have considered them to be albumen. All the photographs show discoloration of the original tones and have been coated, with surface streaks evident on some."

Read more about the individual photos in the gallery above on the library's website.

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