Photography in the 1800's

The Daguerreotype Camera

Example Image

Daguerreotypes

Daguerreotypes were the first successful photographic process. Images were made onto copper plates with silvered surfaces. The surface looked almost like a mirror. This process was prominent in the 1800's, specifically starting in the 1830's. The Daguerreotype was the replacement for the Camera Obscura method. 

Albumen Print

Albumen Print is the first type of photographic paper covered with egg whites and salt to help seal the paper and make it look glossy on one side. People began to stop using the process starting in 1895, but it didn't stop completely until the 1920's. 

Photograph used with albumen print. 

 Stereographs

The use of stereographs made it so that a person could view an image in 3D. Stereographs made one image for each eye to look at, so that the image would appear to be 3 dimensional. The stereograph was popular for decades.

Example of a Stereograph image

Carte de Viste

A Carte de Viste is a small portrait of someone that is put onto a piece of card stock for a border. These photos were used for trading among people you knew so they could carry a picture of you in their pockets. It was small enough to do so.

Small Carte de Viste

Photo by Alexander Gardner

Photo by Matthew Brady

Photo by Matthew Brady

Photo by Alexander Gardner

Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner were photographers who documented the civil war, and took pictures of the events that took place. They were active photographers in the 1860's.

Nicéphore Niépce

          Nicéphore Niépce was born on March 7th, 1765. He became known as the first person to create a successful image. He first discussed the idea of light-sensitive imagery with his brothers in 1793. Later,  he used the idea of a pinhole camera and experimented with different  materials such as chemicals, oils and resins to produce a worthy image. His first attempts were not successful, but in 1822, the photos became recognizable after development.

         Niépce was known for the photograph shown above, which he called a "heliograph". It was taken in the courtyard outside his home in 1822. This photograph is important because it was the first successful photograph using the "Camera Obscura" method. The exposure took 8 hours and the image was reflected onto a pewter surface. Today, this famous photograph is kept at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.