Cornelia Van Ness Roosevelt ca. 1857 Mathew B. Brady American Brady was never much engaged in the manipulation of plates and chemicals, preferring to use the assistance of skilled operators for the mechanical aspects of the process while he, as the artist of the studio, occupied himself with the selection of lenses and cameras, the arrangement of the picture, the physical and psychological comfort of his sitters, and the promotion of his business. For expertise with wet plates Brady relied on Alexander Gardner, an experienced publisher, businessman, and photographer from Glasgow who emigrated to the United States in 1856. Gardner began working for Brady the same year. Two years later he was placed at the helm of the newly established Brady studio in Washington, D.C. The introduction of glass negatives was important to Brady's business because they offered the possibility of limitless prints from a single sitting. In addition, the process allowed for the enlarging of negatives to yiel