List of names : Upper porch, left to right: Dustan S. Walbridge; Clara B. Walbridge: Hale Rix; Mrs. Hale Rix (nee Alice F. Locke of Lyman). Lower porch: Alfred Rix; Mrs. Alfred Rix (nee Maria Christian Walbridge); Oscar Rix. On sidewalk: Edward Austin Rix; Julian W. Rix. From the History Information Station: Object: Daguerreotype. The Rix family in front of their house, 640 Market Street, San Francisco. Whole plate, by Robert H. Vance, August 20,1855. History: In the mid-nineteenth cantury, amateurs rarely took photographs. If a family wished to record some significant event, it hired the services of a professional. The large family of Judge Alfred A. Rix poses proudly on the porch of their new home in this daguerreotype of 1855. Photographers competed actively for such commission, which supplemented the usual studio portrait work. Daguerreotypist Robert H. Vance was one of the first and most important of California's photographers. In 1851 he presented his "Daguerrean Panoramic Views of California" to the public. A monumental display of 300 scenic daguerreotypes, the exhibit foreshadowed the work of such later photographers as Eadward Muybridge and Carleton Watkins.