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The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype

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The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype Michael A. Robinson Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Photographic History Photographic History Research Centre De Montfort University Leicester Supervisors: Dr. Kelley Wilder and Stephen Brown March 2017 Robinson: The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype For Grania Grace ii Robinson: The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype Abstract This thesis explains why daguerreotypes look the way they do. It does this by retracing the pathway of discovery and innovation described in historical accounts, and combining this historical research with artisanal, tacit, and causal knowledge gained from synthesizing new daguerreotypes in the laboratory. Admired for its astonishing clarity and holographic tones, each daguerreotype contains a unique material story about the process of its creation. Clues from the historical record that report improvements in the art are tested in practice to explicitly understand the cause for effects described in texts and observed in historic images. This approach raises awareness of the materiality of the daguerreotype as an image, and the materiality of the daguerreotype as a process. The structure of this thesis is determined by the techniques and materials of the daguerreotype in the order of practice related to improvements in speed, tone and spectral sensitivity, which were the prime motivation for advancements. Chapters are devoted to the silver plate, iodine sensitizing, halogen acceleration, and optics and their contribution toward image quality is revealed. The evolution of the lens is explained using some of the oldest cameras extant. Daguerre’s discovery of the latent image is presented as the result of tacit experience rather than fortunate accident. This thesis is the first to rigorously explain by empirical evidence how, why, and in what ways the daguerreotype process evolved. Its trans-disciplinary methodology, combining traditional research, tacit and gestural process knowledge, and laboratory synthesis refutes the speculative views of highly regarded photo historians, thus significantly correcting the historical record. Curators, caretakers and conservators are provided new material information about daguerreotypes to guide them and protect our cultural heritage, and avoid ill- informed conservation mistakes that have led to irreparable losses of the past. Finally, this work provides evidence to revise prior histories concerning Daguerre’s research and the evolution of the daguerreotype process. iii Robinson: The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures and Tables ...................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Daguerreotype Process .................................................................. 8 1.3 The Daguerreotype and Human Agency .............................................. 16 1.4 The Daguerreotype and Material Culture ............................................. 21 1.5 Engaging Literature .............................................................................. 30 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 2.1 Overview ............................................................................................... 39 2.2 Engagement through Synthesis ............................................................ 42 2.3 Experimental Process, Materials and Apparatus .................................. 50 2.4 Experimental Design ............................................................................. 61 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 67 Chapter 3: The Silver Plate 3.1 Overview ............................................................................................... 70 3.2 Technological Progression to Silver ..................................................... 73 3.3 Materiality of the Plate .......................................................................... 89 3.4 Platemaking Technology .................................................................... 104 3.5 Polishing ............................................................................................. 114 3.6 Galvanizing ......................................................................................... 125 3.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 135 Chapter 4: Sensitizing with Iodine 4.1 Overview ............................................................................................. 138 4.2 Introduction ......................................................................................... 140 4.3 Colours, Speed, Spectral Sensitivity ................................................... 146 4.4 The Sensitizing Box ............................................................................ 167 4.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 180 iv Robinson: The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype Chapter 5: Sensitizing Accelerators 5.1 Overview ............................................................................................. 183 5.2 Introduction ......................................................................................... 186 5.3 The Holborn District ............................................................................ 191 5.4 Claudet's Chloride of Iodine ................................................................ 208 5.5 Managing Bromine .............................................................................. 215 5.6 Mixed Halogens .................................................................................. 224 5.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 235 Chapter 6: Optics and Exposure 6.1 Overview ............................................................................................. 240 6.2 Daguerre's Lens .................................................................................. 244 6.3 First Portraits ..................................................................................... 255 6.4 Petzval's Lens ..................................................................................... 269 6.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 283 Chapter 7: Image Development Fixing and Toning 7.1 Overview ............................................................................................. 289 7.2 The Magic Cupboard .......................................................................... 291 7.3 Louis Daguerre’s 1835 Discovery ....................................................... 301 7.4 Time and Temperature ....................................................................... 307 7.5 Mercury and Ether .............................................................................. 318 7.6 Gilding ................................................................................................. 327 7.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 337 Chapter 8: Conclusions 8.1 Research Questions and Methodology ............................................... 342 8.2 Chapter Summaries and Findings ...................................................... 346 8.3 Summary ............................................................................................ 362 Appendices Appendix A – A Twin Paradox: Southworth & Hawes (PMG-AIC article) ........ 365 Appendix B - DagTest 4-24-2015 Baron Gros Experiment ............................. 384 Appendix C - US Patents Related to Daguerreotype Plate Polishing .............. 385 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 434 v Robinson: The Techniques and Material Aesthetics of the Daguerreotype List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. Dag Test 3-9-2014. Portrait of Keith F. Davis. Illustration of Prismatic effect with a slight change of viewing angle appearing magenta (left) and cyan (right). .............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 2. Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (left) and Jean-Baptiste-Louis and Gros (right). Daguerreotypes of the east facade of the Propylaea from the same vantage point. ............................................................................................................... 14 Figure 3. Dag Test 3-18-2015. Multiply sensitized plate. Micrograph of highlight region on plate half developed with Hg (left), micrograph of highlight region on plate half developed with ether added to the Hg apparatus (right). Ether affect on image colour (Overlay). ........................................................................................... 44 Figure 4. Patent drawing (adapted) for Southworth and Hawes’ Daguerreotype Plate Holder (left). The replica device in use (right). Bob Warren photograph. ................... 48 Figure 5. Daguerreotype
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