Abstract
The history of Polish photography started almost at the same time as in other European countries, so at the beginning of the forties of the XIXth century. Gdańsk was second city after Warsaw on a scale of Polish lands in terms of the number of photographic atelests. The aim of the chapter is to approximate the beginnings of photography in Gdańsk until the sixties of the XIXth century. There were presented the pioneers of photography in this city and the first and most important atelier, in which, there were used modern contemporary photographic techniques. The main source of retention of photographers was primarily portraits – individual, collective, family. Landscape photos were less popular due to their price and large size.