Early Photos
The invention of the photograph happened in a variety of stages over a period of years, but for a long time the images produced where either temporary or could not be reproduced. It wasn't until 1851 when wet plate photography, which allowed for unlimited reproductions of a photo from the negative, was invented. It took even longer, until 1897, until wide scale reproductions could be printed in half-tone. Before that, photographs would be converted into etchings.
One of the first noted cases of an author's photograph being used was of a young Winston Churchill in his book The Story of the Malakand Field Force, published in 1989. In a biography of Churchill, Morgan stated of the book, “On the jacket was a pensive young man with thinning hair who, dressed in a morning coat with silk lapels, did not look in the least like the officer on active duty whose experiences the book recounted.” Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a copy of the original photo published in the book, however the photograph to the left of Churchill, was taken in 190o. Whether the many-times-reprinted photograph in the book would have been of this quality is an interesting question, but chances are the author photo in question would have been similar in composition.
One of the first noted cases of an author's photograph being used was of a young Winston Churchill in his book The Story of the Malakand Field Force, published in 1989. In a biography of Churchill, Morgan stated of the book, “On the jacket was a pensive young man with thinning hair who, dressed in a morning coat with silk lapels, did not look in the least like the officer on active duty whose experiences the book recounted.” Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a copy of the original photo published in the book, however the photograph to the left of Churchill, was taken in 190o. Whether the many-times-reprinted photograph in the book would have been of this quality is an interesting question, but chances are the author photo in question would have been similar in composition.
An interesting moment in author photo history revolves around the notoriously reclusive J.D. Salinger. When his novel The Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951, Salinger's photo was included on the dust jacket. In fact, as you can see to the right his photo was the entire back cover of the dust jacket. The book was an instant hit and quickly sold out forcing multiple additional printings of the book within the first month after it was published. However, every addition after the first two was printed without a picture of Salinger in the book.
The request to remove the photo was Salinger's, presumably due to his private nature and the wildly popular book spreading to all corners of the country. It can also be viewed as an effort to distance himself from his controversial work, however that seems unlikely. If anything it might truthfully be viewed as regret for having published the book in first place. Not only was Catcher in the Rye Salinger's only book but since its publishing he has steadfastly refused to sell the rights to make any other forms of the book, despite serious interest from Hollywood for a movie adaptation.
Resources:
Campbell, W. (2004, January 1). 1897 American journalism's exceptional year. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://academic2.american.edu/~wjc/exceptyear1.htm
History of Photography Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://photo.net/history/timeline
Morgan, T. (1982). Churchill: Young man in a hurry, 1874-1915. New York: Simon and Schuster.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winston_Churchill_1874_-_1965_Q113382.jpg
The Books of Sir Winston Churchill. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/writings/the-books-of-sir-winston-churchill