M.B. Brady, the well-known photographer, is dead. For many years he was a familiar figure about Washington, and the news of his passing away will be received with sincere sorrow by hundreds who have known him during his long and eventful career.

Mr. Brady was a native of New York, where he died Thursday, having gone there to live a few months ago. A little over a year ago he was run over one day while crossing the street at the corner of New York avenue and 14th street, and for months he lay in the hospital hovering between life and death. When finally he recovered he was only able to go about on crutches, and existence was almost a burden to him.

He began life as a photographer in New York city far back in the days when daguerreotypes were in vogue and soon became known as an excellent workman. He saw the value of his occupation as an adjunct to the historic description of contemporary times and characters. To Brady is due the accurate portraiture of scores of men of great historic prominence in the first half of the century, as well as of hundreds who have been active in the affairs of the war period and since. He made daguerreotypes of Webster, Calhoun, Clay, John Quincy Adams, Sam Houston and many other men famous in their day. Coming to Washington in the early fifties, Mr. Brady soon became a leading photographer and in a few years his name was a household word all over the United States.

The illustrated journals during the war added to his celebrity by reproducing many of his pictures of battlefields and his portraits of prominent generals in both armies. He took thousands of important and valuable negatives during the four years from 1861 to 1865, which have served to illustrate that great struggle as no war has previously been pictured. Many of these were of a large size and presented graphic scenes on battlefields, in camp, hospital, during the march and in and about army headquarters. Congress authorized the purchase of a large collection of these pictures, and a large photographic publishing concern in Hartford, Conn. has for twenty years been steadily engaged in making and selling copies of Brady's war pictures. The sale is largely among veterans in all parts of the United States.

Mr. Brady, as time settled upon him—he was seventy-six when he died—became desultory and uncertain in his business methods, and neglected rather than utilized his splendid accumulation of valuable work. Last July the last of the negatives in his control was sold under forced sale to a leading photographer on F street. In this collection were hundreds of life-size negatives of the famous generals, statesmen, journalists, diplomats, literary men and actresses of the century. Its historic value is incalculable, and must increase as time passes.

In person and manner Mr. Brady was a most congenial gentleman. His friends were legion, and he preferred for years to give them his time and company rather than confine himself to the demands of his calling. He did a good deal of transitory and fugitive work in recent years, much of which consisted of taking pictures of large groups of organizations visiting Washington. In this work he was assisted by his nephew, L.C. Handy, who owns a large number of Mr. Brady's negatives, and succeeds to the greater part of his business.