History

Introduction to Identifying 19th Century Images

written by: Maureen Taylor

Tucked away in family collections, archives and museums are stunning examples of nineteenth century photographic talent. A customer in a photo studio in 1860 could choose from a wide variety of photographic methods—a shiny metal daguerreotype, a glass ambrotype, a varnished tintype or a paper print.  For the contemporary viewer, each of these techniques has distinctive qualities that make them readily identifiable. Daguerreotypes While there were individuals experimenting with the daguerreotype process in 1839, the first daguerreotypes appeared in America in 1840 in the hands of Francois Gouraud a contemporary of the inventor, Louis Daguerre. Gouraud traveled throughout the United Read more »

The Camera that Changed the Face of Photography

written by: John Wade

In its early days, photography was a complicated business, a pursuit taken up only by professionals or extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable amateurs. In 1888, along came a camera that changed all that. It had no complicated controls and instead of taking pictures on individual glass plates, as had previously been the case, it used a roll of film. Until then the word ‘snapshot’ referred to a gunshot fired quickly without seriously aiming at a fast-moving target. But now the word took on a new meaning. Snapshot photography for the masses arrived with a camera aimed at (and bought by) people Read more »