CALOTYPE In 1841, English amateur scientist, William Henry Fox Talbot patented his radically improved photographic process, the calotype, the first negative/positive photographic process. Using a paper negative, the calotype process enabled many prints to be made from the one negative. Dr John MURRAY Agra the Taj from the East c.1858 calotype (waxed paper) process negative Collection: David Knaus, California Calotype prints are described as ‘salted paper prints’ – the paper having been first soaked in salt solution before the light-sensitive solution is brushed on. The prints have a matt surface, with the image detail softened by the paper fibres. The calotype democratised the medium as more people were able to take and acquire photographs of places, people and things. The calotype’s tolerance of extreme temperatures made it the preferred process in places like India. The calotype, and the derivative waxed paper negative, were used until around 1860 when they became gradually superseded by the wet-plate glass negative process. daguerreotype Invented by the French painter Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, the daguerreotype, made its public debut in Paris in January 1839. Daguerre’s process used copper sheets very thinly plated with silver to produce highly detailed, unique positive images. Daguerreotypes are easily damaged by abrasion or chemical tarnishing. They were normally protected by a metal mat and Douglas T KILBURN South-east Australian Aboriginal man with two younger companions 1847 daguerreotype National Gallery of Australia a covering glass sheet, and placed in ornate cases made of leather-covered wood, lined with velvet. In Australia, the first daguerreotype was made in 1841. Activity peaked around 1857 and then dropped sharply being superseded by the cheaper and more convenient wet-plate process. By the mid 1860s few studios advertised daguerreotypes. AMBROTYPE The ambrotype, developed in the early 1850s, was an ingenious method for making a unique positive image. The addition of black paper or paint backing on the emulsion side of a wet-plate negative gives the appearance of a positive image. The process was as detailed as a daguerreotype, but gave an additional soft Thomas S GLAISTER Moore family 1858 ambrotype, colour dyes National Gallery of Australia roundness to the forms. Ambrotypes were half the cost of a daguerreotype and similar in size and presentation format. Deluxe cases, fine hand-colouring and gilt appliqué placed the best quality ambrotypes in the possession of the elite. UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER Studio portrait Japanese father with small son 1883 ambrotype in kiri wood case National Gallery of Australia CARTE DE VISITE (CALLING CARD) The carte-de-visite process was patented in Paris in 1854 by A A E Disderi.These miniature photographs were mounted on cards 11.4 x 6.4 cm, the size of the contemporary visiting card. Nearly always albumen prints from wet-plate collodion negatives, carte de visite were extremely popular as portraits, scenic views and reproductions of works of art, often being offered in albums. Portraiture was opened to a wider clientele as relatives and friends exchanged their carte-de-visite portraits, especially in the 1860s. The carte de visite was a universal language that Nicholas CAIRE Studio portrait of a man on a rock 1876 albumen silver carte de visite flourished widely for the next three decades. The back of the card National Gallery of Australia gift of Gael Newton 1997 enabled photographers to advertise their business and announce exhibition medals and royal or vice regal appointments. ALBUMEN PRINT Invented in 1850 by the French cloth merchant Louis-Desiré Blanquart-Evrard, the albumen print was the most widely used method of photographic printing until about 1890. Paper, coated with albumen (egg white) containing salt, was made light sensitive prior to exposure by floating it on silver nitrate solution. Lai AFONG Gollen Valley Cave near sing Chang tea mart 1870 albumen silver photograph Queen’s University Library, Belfast Albumen paper could be matt but usually had a definite gloss finish, and could be burnished. After 1855 albumen prints were mostly gold toned, enriching their colour and increasing their permanence. The earliest albumen papers were hand coated by the photographer but by 1858 they were available for sale ready-made. GELATIN SILVER PRINT Gelatin silver bromide papers were invented in England in 1873 by Peter Mawdsley, the founder of the Liverpool Dry Plate Company, but did not come into wide use until the 1880s. The gelatin silver printing process reduced exposure times, facilitated making enlargements and was cheaper to process. Gelatin silver printing papers were made with a variety of silver salts, offering different print tones, and a wide range of paper surfaces. Matt finish bromide papers were the most popular form of gelatin silver E. O. HOPPÉ Innkeeper at Eden, New South Wales 1930 gelatin silver photograph The Estate of E. O. Hoppé at Curatorial Assistance, Inc., California papers with professionals and amateurs in Australia from the early 1890s. STEREOSCOPY Stereoscopy, invented by the English physicist Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1832, predates photography. In 1839, Wheatstone demonstrated the principle of using an optical device for viewing images to provide the appearance of depth. Early attempts to produce stereo daguerreotypes proved difficult, but by 1849 stereo-calotypes by Fox Talbot, Roger Fenton and others were being offered for sale. Douglas Kilburn was successful in making stereo-daguerreotypes of the displays at the Crystal Palace exhibition of 1851 in London. The commercialisation of stereoscopy came with the introduction of stereocards using pairs of albumen prints on standard card mounts. From 1850 the novelty spread rapidly around the world with many firms in England, Europe, America and Asia offering large catalogues of stereo views and viewing equipment. .