The Daguerreotype Process photohistory-sussex.co.uk /dagprocess.htm Click here to Return to Home Page The Daguerreotype Process Louis Jacques Mande DAGUERRE (1787-1851) The daguerreotype process was the first practicable method of obtaining permanent images with a camera. The man who gave his name to the process and perfected the method of producing direct positive images on a silver-coated copper plate was Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, a French artist and scenic painter. Daguerre had began experimenting with ways of fixing the images formed by the camera obscura around 1824, but in 1829 he entered into partnership with Joseph Nicephore Niepce (1765-1833), a French amateur scientist and inventor who, in 1826, had succeeded in securing a picture of the view from his window by using a a camera obscura and a pewter plate coated with bitumen. Niepce called his picture-making process heliography ("sun drawing"), but although he had managed to produce a permanent image using a camera, the exposure time was around 8 hours. Niepce later abandoned pewter plates in favour of silver-plated sheets of copper and discovered that the vapour from iodine reacted with the silver coating [ ABOVE ] A to produce silver iodide, a light sensitive compound. daguerreotype portrait of Louis After the death of Niepce in 1833, Daguerre continued to experiment with copper plates Jacques Daguerre coated with silver iodide to produce direct positive pictures. Daguerre discovered that the by John Jabez latent image on an exposed plate could be brought out or "developed" with the fumes from Edwin Mayall , a warmed mercury. The use of mercury vapour meant that photographic images could be photographic artist produced in twenty to thirty minutes rather than hours. In 1837, Daguerre found a way of who established a "fixing" the photographic images with a solution of common salt. Two years later, he studio in London in followed the suggestion of Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) and adopted hyposulphate of 1847 and later set soda (now thiosulphate of soda ) as the fixing agent. up a photographic studio in Brighton, Daguerre began making successful pictures using his improved process from 1837. On Sussex. This 19th August,1839, at a meeting in Paris, the Daguerreotype Process was revealed to the daguerreotype world. dates from 1846. In England, Richard Beard (1801-1885), a former coal merchant and patent speculator, [ LEFT] Apparatus bought the patent to Alexander Wolcott's mirror camera and employed the services of and equipment for John Frederick Goddard (1795-1866), a chemist, to find a way of reducing exposure times making to less than a few minutes, thereby making it possible to take daguerreotype portraits. On daguerreotypes, 23rd March 1841, Richard Beard opened England’s first daguerreotype portrait studio in from an London's Regent Street. In June 1841, Beard purchased from Daguerre the patent rights to advertisement the daguerreotype process in England. published in 1843. 1/8 2/8 An Early Daguerreotype Portrait Studio (1842) a. A daguerreotype studio was often situated at the very top of a building, which had a glass roof to let in as much light as possible. b. The subject sat on a posing chair placed on a raised platform, which could be rotated to face the light. The sitter's head is held still by a clamp (x). The stages of making a daguerreotype portrait 1. An assistant polishes a silver-coated copper plate with a long buffer until the surface is highly reflective (y). c. The highly polished plate is then taken into the darkroom, where it is sensitized with chemicals ( e.g. chloride of iodine, chloride of bromine ). 2. The operator places the sensitized plate into a camera placed on a high shelf (z). When the sitter is ready the operator removes the camera cover and times the required exposure with a watch. [ In this illustration, the operator is using Wolcott's Mirror Camera, which was fitted with a curved mirror instead of a lens ]. 3. The exposed plate is returned to the [ ABOVE ] An early daguerreotype studio, as depicted in a darkroom where the photographic image on the woodcut by George Cruikshank in 1842. This illustration silvered plate is "brought out" with the fumes shows the interior of Richard Beard's daguerreotype portrait from heated mercury (d). The photographic studio at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London's Regent image is "fixed" by bathing the plate in Street, the first professional photographic portrait studio in hyposulphate of soda. The photographic plate England, which opened in 1841. In this early period, Beard with the daguerreotype image is then washed in employed Wolcott's Mirror Camera, which used a concave distilled water (e) and dried. mirror instead of a lens. 4. Finally, the finished daguerreotype portrait is covered by a sheet of protective glass and is either mounted in a decorative frame or presented in a leather-bound case and offered to the customer for close inspection. Early daguerreotype portraits were very small and to appreciate the fine detail these customers are using a magnifying glass. Ten Steps in Making a Daguerreotype 3/8 Polishing 1. Polishing and Buffing the Photographic Plate A plate of silver-coated copper is cleaned and highly polished with a soft cloth, using pumice powder and oil. The plate is continually polished and buffed until the silvered surface has a mirror-like brilliance. 2. Sensitizing the Photographic Plate The polished plate is sensitized by exposing it to iodine and bromine fumes. The plate is first suspended in an air tight compartment containing chloride of iodine until the surface of the silvered plate turns yellow. The iodized plate is then suspended face down over chloride of bromine fumes. The two chemicals combine with the silver coating of the plate to form a light sensitive surface. ( and Some daguerreotype artists used a combination of chlorine and iodine vapours ). Buffing the Plate Sensitizing the Plate 4/8 3. 3. Loading the Camera 4. The sensitized plate is inserted into a light-proof holder with a protective slide and placed inside the camera. 4. Taking the Likeness The subject is placed in front of the camera. If necessary, the pose is held with the assistance of adjustable head rests, clamps and posing stands. The protective slide is removed and, when the photographer is satisfied with the pose and expression of the sitter, the lens cap is removed for a period of time until the image is captured on the sensitized surface of the plate. The Daguerreotype Daguerreotype Exposure Times Camera 1839 Daguerreotype half-plate & whole plate 15-30 minutes 1841 Daguerreotype ninth-plate & sixth- plate 20 sec - 90 seconds 1842 Daguerreotype ninth-plate & sixth- plate 10 sec - 60 seconds The Posing Stand 5/8 5. Developing the Image Developing the image in the fuming The image is "brought out" by suspending the photographic plate over a dish of mercury box inside a fuming box. The mercury is heated by a spirit lamp and the fumes from the mercury combine with the silver salts to produce a clear image on the plate. 6. Fixing the Image The photographic image is made permanent by bathing the photographic plate in hyposulphate of soda ( or sodium thiosulphite ) 6. Fixing the image with hyposulphate of soda 7. Gold Toning or Gilding ( optional ) The image on the the photographic plate can also be toned and strengthened by treating the plate with gold chloride. 8. Washing the Photographic Plate Finally, the photographic plate is washed in distilled water and dried. 6/8 9. Colouring ( optional ) The portrait could be coloured by hand. The surface of the plate was coated with a thin film of gum arabic and left to dry. The colourist would then breathe on the treated plate to make it sticky and with a fine paintbrush applied dry powdered pigment to the image. [ RIGHT ] A hand-coloured daguerreotype portrait of a woman by William Edward Kilburn, who opened a studio in Regent Street, London in 1846. William Kilburn was famous for h i s hand-coloured daguerreotype portraits, which were compared to painted portrait miniatures. 10. Mounting and Presenting the Finished Daguerreotype Portrait The finished daguerreotype portrait was surrounded by a gilt or brass mat, covered with a sheet of protective glass, and bound in a metal frame. The daguerreotype portrait was presented in a velvet or plush-lined, leather case, or mounted in a decorative frame. [ LEFT ] A daguerreotype portrait of a man surrounded by a brass mat. [ CENTRE] A hand-coloured daguerreotype portrait in a leather case embossed with the name of Beard's Photographic Institution.[ RIGHT ] A daguerreotype portrait of a woman in a simple frame. Click here to Return to Home Page Acknowledgements Thanks to Mark Osterman for his advice and suggestions regarding the section entitled Ten Steps in Making a Daguerreotype 7/8 8/8.