German-born photographer Dr. Erich Salomon took the first of only two known photos of the US Supreme Court in session. The image was published in Fortune Magazine in 1932 (presumably, not long after the picture was taken; no specific date given). See Related Links, below, to view the picture.
Salomon, who was known for his surreptitious photographs of famous figures and historic events, pretended to have a broken arm, and entered the courtroom with a Zeiss Ermanox* camera concealed in a sling.
The photograph shows Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes flanked by seven of the eight Associate Justices in the old Supreme Court chamber in the Capitol building, prior to completion of the Supreme Court Building. Chief Justice Hughes, and Justices McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland [conservatives known collectively as The Four Horsemen], Brandeis, Stone, Cardozo [liberals known as The Three Muskateers] and Roberts [with Hughes, one of the two moderates] comprised the Hughes Court in 1932. The missing justice, who would have occupied the chair to Chief Justice Hughes' left, was probably Justice James C. McReynolds, second most senior member of the court.
Dr. Salomon, who was Jewish, was captured in Holland in the 1940s and died at Auschwitz in July 1944.
The second photograph was taken by an unnamed woman in 1937. She concealed a small camera in a purse with a hole cut in the side (the lens reportedly looked like an ornament), and shot from the hip without using the viewfinder. The image was apparently archived on Time, Inc. at one time, but is no longer available for viewing.
*The Zeiss Ermanox had a small body with a large lens to facilitate photography in low-light conditions. Although Zeiss optics are excellent, the camera was difficult to focus, and the image was fixed to individual 4 1/2 x 6 cm glass plates (rather than film) that had to be changed after each shot. This is why Salomon was only able to take one picture while inside the courtroom. See Related Links for a picture of a Zeiss Ermanox camera.
