Few figures in nineteenth-century photography remain as elusive and intriguing as John Beasley Greene (1832 1856). Over the course of an exceptionally brief career he created a body of photographs that were publicly admired by his peers and continue to capture the imagination of contemporary audiences. Born in France to an American banker, he made his first expedition to Egypt in 1853, where he photographed ancient Egyptian monuments and is thought to be the first archaeologist to use photography. In these