Biographical/historical information

Daguerreotype was a photographic process used during the 1840s and 1850s. The process was invented by Louis Daguerre in the 1830s and was the first photographic process to be publicly available. The process involved silver-plated copper which had been polished to a mirror finish and treated with fumes in order to make the surface sensitive to light. The copper was exposed to a camera for as long as necessary (less intense lighting involved longer exposure times) and was fumed with mercury vapor to make the latent image visible. A liquid chemical treatment then reversed the light sensitivity, and the copper surface was then rinsed, dried, and sealed behind glass. The image remained on a silver, mirror-like surface and appeared as either positive or negative depending on the viewing angle. Daguerreotype photographs are delicate to the touch and can be permanently damaged by even a light wiping.

Administrative information

Custodial History

November 17, 2011, (unprocessed) 2 items, .25 cubic feet; Diary (May 1845 – January 1847) kept by a traveling New York Daguerreotypist (name unknown). The diary reads as though it is divided into 5 sections: (1) Local New York Political Section (Sept.-Nov. 1846), (2) Travel to, and daguerreotype work in, North Carolina Section (10/20/1846 – 1/1847), (3) New York Temperance Law Section re the 1846 License Law (May 1845 – September, 1846), (4) Daguerreotype Section re how to clean daguerreotype plates and take good portraits (written by someone other than the author of the rest of the diary), (5) Recipes and Health Cures Section. The N.C. Section contains descriptions of Edenton, Plymouth, Williamston, Greenville, and Washington, N.C., and of Norfolk, Virginia. Diary dimensions are 6" x 8". Accompanying the diary is a modern notebook prepared by either a previous owner or Cowan's Auctions containing observations with supporting data related to possible identities of the daguerreotypist and transcribed excerpts from the diary with commentary.

Source of acquisition

Purchased from Cowan's Auctions, Inc.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Key terms

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