The first operation using ether as anesthesia took place in 1846. This daguerreotype is not of that operation, but rather is a recreation of the event. The patient is unknown, but the surgeons include John Mason Warren, John Collins Warren, George Hayward, and Solomon D. Townsend.

Following the first use of ether, the operating theater where the original surgery took place became known as the Ether Dome. It is now a small museum of surgical history. It is possible that the event was recreated as part of a school project, or possibly just for fun.