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Daguerreotypes
Why collect someone else's family
photographs?
I get asked that question all the time! We are rapidly approaching the
165th anniversary of photography. Photos freeze moments in time.
They allow you the ability to 'look back' into the past and see things
as they really were. I collect for multiple reasons. The history
behind each photographic process, the beauty and presentation of each photo, and
the true-life story that may be attached to it. They are little 'works of
art'.
 Here
is an 1860s daguerreotype photograph of a little girl, probably taken during the
Civil War. The size of this photograph is 3-3/4" x 4-3/4". The
image is on a silver-plated sheet of copper, surrounded by a gold colored (brass
and copper alloy) mat, and covered with a piece of protective glass and placed
in a case (see example below). Daguerreotypes were invented in
1839, by a Frenchman named Louis Daguerre. Each daguerreotype is
one-of-a-kind, there are no negatives. Before this time, pictures were
captured by artists using oils or other media.
 Most
all early photographs from 1839 to the mid 1860s were placed in special cases to
protect the photograph. The least expensive cases were made of wood and
paper, with patterns pressed onto the surface. The top-of-the-line cases
were made of a substance called "thermoplastic", and came in elaborate
designs. Some people collect just the empty cases! There are over
1000 unique designs.
Sometimes these photographic cases were covered in
Mother-of-Pearl, such as this example.
 The
second daguerreotype example is from an earlier time period. We can tell by the
shape and texture of the mat that this was taken in the 1840s, just a few years
after the invention of photography. It shows a fireman in full uniform,
wearing white gloves, a neat looking cap, displaying a spanner wrench in his
belt. The image has been hand tinted in red and blue, with additional dabs of
gold on the hat brim. The size is 3-1/4" x 3-3/4".
 This
photo to the right is of a late 1840s to early 1850s man in need of a haircut,
dressed with a fancy vest and a blue tinted cravat. Daguerreotypes have
amazing detail, and almost appear 3-D when held in your hands. Flat-bed
scanner images cannot capture the true essence of the visual element that
strongly attracts collectors to these objects. You have to experience an
exquisite example in person. This photo measures 3-1/4" x
3-3/4".
 There
are only a few dozen people on earth today that have learned and mastered the
19th century craft of making daguerreotypes. The process uses poisonous
mercury vapors in the development cycle, and it is extremely difficult to obtain
consistent quality results, as so much is dependent on timing, humidity,
temperature, length of exposure and many other variables. The example to
the left was taken and developed by Charlie Schreiner, of Saugatuck Michigan, in
October of 1995. Michigan is my home state. Size: 2" x3".
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Thanks for looking!
Please write if you have any questions. I love early photography as much
as early television history. :-)
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