William S. Johnson has produced a detailed annotated biography and an annotated bibliography, both of interest to collectors.

Compiled in 2004 and expanded in 2024, Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes Annotated Biography is drawn from Johnson’s extensive database, which covers the years 1839 to 1869, and a less complete database that covers 1870 to 1879. Johnson intends to conduct an online search that extends to 1902, when the last partner died.

The photographic firm Southworth and Hawes operated in Boston from 1843 to about 1863 (end date varies depending on the source). It was known for whole-plate portrait daguerreotypes that attracted wealthy patrons.

The annotated chronological bibliography provides an extensive record of instances when Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes were mentioned in print. References include books, journals, and other materials that published engraved or lithographed prints drawn from their daguerreotypes. The bibliography also tracks references published after their deaths to trace their evolving reputations. Additional information about the bibliography can be found here.

Also published by Johnson in 2024 was The Myth of Mathew Brady, described as an annotated bibliography of the literature about Mathew B. Brady with some additional citations for Alexander Gardner (and a little bit about the Civil War). Read further here.

Brady claimed to have learned the daguerreotype process from Samuel Morse, though Johnson questions this claim. There was later speculation that he may have learned the process directly from Daguerre. Brady was a successful businessman who ran multiple galleries in the 1850s in New York and Washington, D.C. He was also given credit for a number of award-winning daguerreotypes taken by his employees.