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AH 331 History of Photography Spring 2021 Compendium

Louis Daguerre - Boulevard du Temple - Daguerrotype - 1838

This page is referenced by:

Henry Fox Talbot and Development of Photographic Technologies
Adrian Lynn
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The mid 19th Century has been an influential time in history and was mainly known for the variety of inventions that have taken place throughout the world. Such innovations were profoundly known in areas such as Western Europe, with their role in arts and design. These innovations consist of the typewriter, the telegraph, and including but not limited to the revolutionary technology of photography.

Before introducing photography, many artists and innovators at the time used the camera obscura concept. This instrument acts as an aid for drawing landscapes and scenery with a mirror-like projection of the outside world until 1825, where Joseph Nicéphore Niépce had this projection permanently affixed onto a metal plate. This technique was being achieved using a coated pewter plate with bitumen of Judea, which allows it to become sensitive to light exposure.[1] Upon the ambient reflection, the chemical process then imprints the negative/positive image on the subjected plate.[2] Niépce has been known for his involvement as the founding father of photography and has led him to become the creator of what is recorded to be the first photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras of 1826. His technique with heliography has enabled future experimenters and photographers to progress and expand on this creation.

A few years after creating the first photograph, Louis Daguerre, a French inventor, creates a shortened exposure image based on Niépce's invention, which decreased the time from hours to minutes, initiating the development of the Daguerreotype.[3] The Daguerreotype has now become the practical process of photography. It only took an exposure time of an estimated ten to twenty minutes to permanently capture an image as seen through the Boulevard du Temple of 1838.[4] The semi-long exposure resulted the streets to become apocalyptic like as it only captures the buildings and other stationary objects. The Daguerreotype process is accomplished through polishing a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror-like finish. It allows the surface to become light-sensitive for it to capture what is projected through the lenses. This technique results in a latent exposure to imprint onto the polished plate, which is later fumed and sealed with mercury vapor to have present a permanent image.[5] Although the Daguerreotype propelled the publicity of photography, it did not successfully capture the artistic features and the ability to make multiple copies, unlike what the Calotype has achieved. Introduced by Henry Fox Talbot in 1841, the Calotype captures the negatives through the lenses and projects a vivid image of the positives onto a salt paper coated with silver nitrate.[6]

William Henry Fox Talbot was an affluent English intellectual in the mid-19th Century known for his profound interest in photography. With the prosperous lifestyle he has already attained, Talbot dedicated his time to experimenting with the camera obscura. However, he has always been unsatisfied with the results due to the artistic tracing skills he lacked. It has always been his concern to permanently imprint the projected reflection on the tracing paper that came through from the lens of his camera obscura.[7] After returning home to Lacock Abbey, he soon experiments with an incident from his vacation at Lake Como. He notices that a solution consisting of a mixture of salt and silver nitrate darkens a fine sheet of writing paper. Talbot also discovered that the second layer of salt solution further darkens the paper exposed to the sun.[8] This technique motivated Talbot to experiment with pressed leaves and branches onto sensitized paper and expose it to the sun for the chemical process.

Early Calotypes of Talbot's work can be represented through the infamous Latticed Window at Lacock Abbey of 1835. Its distinction between the black and whites represents a vivid image of the lead glass outlines.[9] However, exploring this photogenic drawing procedure drove Talbot to put the sensitized paper in his camera obscura. The camera obscura now instead traces itself the exposure of the negatives and positives of the outside world. With this new technique's success, Talbot used this opportunity to further pursue the experimentation of the Calotype by exposing the silhouettes created around his Lacock Abby estate. One can see such works from the experiment through the infamous salted paper print, Oak Tree in Winter of the early 1840s, as this represents the bright contrast between the trees and the background.

Talbot further pursues with photographing subjects that are instead exposed to the sunlight rather than needing to be silhouetted by the sunshine behind. With the new technique, he soon implements this method both in and outdoors around his Lacock Abby estate.[10] One can see examples of these images through Talbot's Articles of China, 1844 and The Cloisters at Lacock Abbey, 1840s as these prints no longer have bright backgrounds compared to that of his earlier works. Contrasting to the other photography methods at the time, such as the Daguerreotype, Talbot's process has narrowed down to more efficient use of chemicals in a less hazardous manner to imprint an image successfully.

As fascinating as Talbot’s images were, the Royal Society of London recognized his prints as photogenic drawings instead of camera images.[11] However, to overcome the Daguerreotype's success and put a stake to his name, Talbot created a true brass ring to speed up photographic images' production to exemplify its potential fully.[12] This process enables the prints' chemical composition to be exposed to the subjects under a minute or two with proper sunlight. Whereas in taking a picture in the form of a Daguerreotype, the subjects instead have to stay still for a gruesome ten to fifteen minutes, which is quite noticeable to those taking portraits.[13] Talbot soon patented this process as the "Calotype" to claim a stake to his name understanding the potential of this new improvement to his creation.

It is recognized that those who contributed to photography's innovation have been known for their monetary success of being inventors. However, as for William Henry Fox Talbot, he was not motivated by the desire for fame and fortune but instead pursued it for the sake of his unsatisfactory drawing skills.[14] Additionally, other innovators have already put in a decent amount of time to experiment with chemicals and lights. In contrast, Talbot has discovered the chemical process of the Calotype by a mere accident. However, with the uproar of Louis Daguerre's success on the Daguerreotype, it has driven Talbot to pursue his side experiment full time, opening up a new approach to the concept of photography.

The modernity of the photographic process brought significance to the creation of the Calotype and changed Talbot's idea of freely sharing the process. Although Talbot initially had no capitalistic intent in creating the Calotype, he pursues the licensing right to patent this process as this will bring him the further climb towards his notoriety significance he now desires. Knowing the superiority of the Calotype over the Daguerreotype, Talbot used this knowledge to charge up to £300 annually for certain professionals.[15] The President of the Royal Society and Royal Academy president soon requested to bring down free up the patent.[16] It was reasoned to become a threat in slowing down the development of photography. Similar to what Louis Daguerre has proposed for the Daguerreotype, the Calotype slowly became "free to the world." With the pressure Talbot received from the Royal institutions, the Calotype became a gateway in expanding mass-produce prints and further contributed to developing today's photography technology.

[1] Mark Osterman, and Grant B. Romer, “History and Evolution of Photography: The Technical Evolution of Photography in the 19th Century,” The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, 4th Edition, 27-35, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film Press, 2007.
[2] Osterman, and Romer, “History and Evolution of Photography: The Technical Evolution of Photography in the 19th Century,” 27.
[3]Osterman, and Romer, “History and Evolution of Photography: The Technical Evolution of Photography in the 19th Century,” 31.
[4] Osterman, and Romer, “History and Evolution of Photography: The Technical Evolution of Photography in the 19th Century,” 35.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Malcolm Daniel, “William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) and the Invention of Photography,” In Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tlbt/hd_tlbt.htm
[7] Ellen Sharp, “A Note on William Henry Fox Talbot and The Pencil of Nature,” Detroit Institute of Arts, 1991, 43.
[8] Daniel, Malcolm, “William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) and the Invention of Photography,” October 2004.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ellen Sharp, “A Note on William Henry Fox Talbot and The Pencil of Nature,” Detroit Institute of Arts, 1991, 43.

[15] Daniel, Malcolm, “William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) and the Invention of Photography,” October 2004.
[16] Ibid.

Bibliography
Daniel, Malcolm. “William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) and the Invention of Photography.”
In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
October 2004. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tlbt/hd_tlbt.htm

Osterman, Mark, and Grant B Romer. “History and Evolution of Photography: The Technical Evolution of
Photography in the 19th Century.” The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, 4th Edition, 27-35.
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film Press, 2007.

Sharp, Ellen. “A Note on William Henry Fox Talbot and The Pencil of Nature.” Detriot Institute
of Arts. 1991, 43.
The Invention of the Daguerreotype Process
In the 19th century painting reached a technical level that is still considered excellence today. Through the use of different painting techniques and styles, painters around the world were able to create masterpieces that are comparable to the quality and realisticness of modern day photographs, yet the price and effort needed to create or duplicate these paintings was still much too expensive for anybody but the upper-class to obtain. Seeing this need from society, scientists, artists, and inventors worked tirelessly to perfect a technology that used a known natural phenomenon to “catch and imprint” a light image onto a surface indefinitely.
The industrial revolution made it possible for a larger amount of wealth distribution among the various economic classes. For the first time in history the middle-class began to grow at a rapid pace, allowing many to be able to have more leisure time and partake in activities for enjoyment. In particular, many people aspired to have painted or drawn portraits made for them to own, but were out of reach of being able to commission a painting of themselves or a loved one. This led to the increased demand for a technology that would be able to replace illustrations or paintings in order to display an image to the public. Scientists had been familiar with the camera obscura for centuries, but had no way to capture and preserve an image created in one. Many inventors worked their entire life with the hopes of inventing a successful and easily scalable photographic technology that would lead to further photographic inventions in the future. These inventors knew that the technology had the power to change the world in a variety of ways, and the potential to be named the inventor of photography led many to try their hand at creating the first accessible and affordable photographic process. By photographing people instead of scenery or scientific objects, photographs could then be sold to people who want portraits or other types of photography, which would make photography more of a personal tool for entertainment or for creating tangible memories. Among these aspiring inventors was Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre. Louis Daguerre was a French artist and inventor that can be accredited with the invention of the Daguerreotype process, a photographic process that utilized a silver plated sheet of metal that was treated with iodine and later mercury and hyposulphite of soda in order to expose and permanently suspend the photographer's development process. [1] Before Daguerre’s development of this technique, there had not been any success with the invention of a photographic process, but phenomena such as the camera obscura and simple optical physics were known by the public. Daguerre knew that others would also be trying to be the first to invent the first photographic process that could indefinitely display an image. Daguerre took particular interest in the work of Nicéphore Niépce and Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor because of their success that was shown in their bitumen process. [2] In turn, Daguerre tried to perfect the Niepce process with the idea that if he is able to finish Niepce’s work, that he would receive all of the fame and fortune from the invention. At the time, Daguerre saw this opportunity as one that he could potentially profit large amounts of money from because of the popularity that affordable and readily available photography would have among the public. Daguerre’s first photos were of different fossils and objects that had value within the scientific community.
Although Daguerre’s main interest was bringing photography to the public, it is likely that he first focused on photography of still objects because it was almost impossible to photograph a human as a result of the amount of time that they would be required to sit for. The process that he was able to invent was limited by the amount of time that it took to take a photo, issues with the photo’s clarity, and its replicability. [3]

Daguerre saw a clear road to fame and success from his invention. While photography had not yet become a phenomenon to the public, Daguerre saw the chance to bring this technology to popularity. If Daguerre’s technology was successful compared to other forms of photography being developed, then Daguerre would likely assume a significant amount of fame and fortune by bringing his process to the public. Daguerre was a “[distrusted] showman from the big city… Daguerre was known to all France for a highly lucrative side show, called the Diorama.” [4] Being the first to develop a technology like photography or electricity lends itself to a legacy of fame and fortune. Many photographic developers recognized this and worked tirelessly to become the first and best at developing camera technology. During the creation of the Daguerreotype, Daguerre was very secretive of his methods and the different processes that he had been testing. He was scared that if this information got out, that another individual would beat him to the invention. Therefore, trying to make it so that he would be able to take advantage of the copyrighting and be able to profit off of the invention. In the end, Daguerre was able to claim legal ownership over the intellectual property associated with his invention and he sold his photographic process to the government where he received royalties for its use. Following the public release of his technology, Daguerre retired and moved to the countryside of France to take up a hobby of painting, suggesting that he was likely more interested in the money involved with his invention rather than the application and development of photographic processes. [5]
It is clear that Louis Daguerre was primarily interested in being the first to bring the Daguerreotype process because of the fortunes associated with being the first. Throughout his development of the process Daguerre purposefully kept his findings a secret and worked to discredit others who threatened to beat him to his own process or come up with a more advanced and practical process. Daguerre likely could have continued to perfect and alter his photographic process after gaining the intellectual rights to his invention, furthering the quality of photographic technology and expanding his legacy as the inventor of photography, but instead he simply abandoned the idea of photography and his work he did for it all together. [6]
The Daguerreotype process quickly became obsolete as a result of emerging alternatives that made the photographic process much quicker, replicable, and higher quality. “The daguerreotype, for all its delicate crispness and its still unsurpassed gradations of tone, was a dead end. The future and the importance of photography lay in the image which could be duplicated endlessly and exactly.” Although Daguerre’s process worked and was truly the first of its kind, its success was drowned out by other notable photographic inventions that fixed many of the issues that were present with the Daguerreotype process. Louis Daguerre did not continue his efforts to make the photographic process even easier than the processes that followed his own.
Louis Daguerre's invention created a camera that would render all other efforts obsolete so he would be able to be recognized as the inventor of the modern camera and collect royalties on his invention for the rest of his life. Daguerre found success in creating his own version of a camera and collecting royalties from his copyrights, but the Daguerreotype technology quickly became obsolete as a result of several flaws compared to other arriving technologies, which required less time to take photographs, used more practical mediums for the image to be printed on, and also made it so the images could be replicated.
Louis Daguerre and the Invention of Photography The word “photography” simply means light writing. There are three things needed to produce a photograph; an optical device that can control the light, some sort of chemical process that can reproduce the effects of light on a surface and a chemical process that can fix light and image permanently.[1] The invention of photography can't be given to one person, there were multiple inventors who were developing this technology. In the beginning of the 16th century, churches and cathedrals had an opening on the rooftop, which is like a lens, and it was used to focus light and the project image of the sun on the cathedral/church floor.[2] This technology is still evolving, meaning it is not accurate to credit a single person on its invention. However, Louis Daguerre is still known and seen as the originator of photography.[3]

Louis Daguerre was a French celebrity who was known for his Diorama. The Diorama was “lucrative slide show” where about 350 people could go see large paintings that transformed when colored glasses, blinds and mirrors were added to the mix.[4] Daguerre quickly realized that a lot of money could be made if he could create these scenes more quickly. This is when he became interested in doing it mechanically using photography, which in turn would be more affordable and quicker. Thus, he collaborated with Nicéphore Niépce. Niépce had already discovered that bitumen of judea bleaches and hardens the image when exposed to light. This was then used to create permanent image transfer using light. He also proceeds to experiment with pewter plates, he placed the plate that was coated with bitumen of judea inside the camera obscura with an exposure time of 8 to 10 hours. The image that he captured of the view from his windowsill is known as the first photograph. In 1829, Niépce and Daguerre agree to share their knowledge, honor and profit from their collaboration invention. In 1831, Daguerre discovers that silver iodide is more light sensitive than silver nitrate. After this realization, he begins to experiment with new processes using silver iodide; he uses a professional camera with a quality lens, he uses a silver-plated sheet of copper sensitized with silver iodide and exposed the plate in the camera obscura for several hours. However, there was still no visible image. He soon found that exposing the plate to heated mercury fumes and due to its chemical effect, the “latent image” was made visible. This was a dangerous process because mercury fumes are very toxic.[5] After, he bathes the plate in a solution of table salt, this essentially stops the light sensitivity of the silver iodide. The processes he took produced an image on a “highly polished, light-sensitized silver plate, which produced a one-of-a-kind image”.[6] This image was eventually called a Daguerreotype.
Daguerres invention came about from trial and error and for money rather than the chemical research that goes into making the photograph.[7] He then wants to patent this and eventually when someone uses his process and technology, he will get some sort of pay out of it. However, he still had a long way to go because he now wants to achieve photographing people because more people are likely to pay to have photographs of themselves rather than other objects.
In 1837, Daguerre creates the first photograph of humans, Le Boulevard Du Temple. However, this image had some flaws; this image was taken on a busy street in Paris where there is a lot of foot and automobile traffic. The camera did not capture that, it only captured the two people who were sitting long enough for the camera to catch. Surprisingly, the two people captured were getting their shoes shined. The exposure time was several hours and people on the streets were not standing still and thus the camera was unable to record these images.
John Herschel, another contributor to the invention of photography, gave some advice and proposed that in order for the camera to catch images of humans they need to be still for the whole exposure period. Daguerre’s process was publicly announced in 1839 and he had received a French patent. However, there were some disadvantages with the daguerreotype; it has a long exposure time, it is expensive, and the cameras are very large. By the end of the 1840’s, three major improvements were made to the daguerreotype process. Firstly, the cameras were manufactured with a better lens. Next, more light sensitive plates were produced. And finally, the tones in the daguerreotype image were enriched with a process called gilding. Gilding is a process of adding gold or silver lead to any surface.
After the announcement in France of the daguerreotype process, the process had spread to the whole world. A few years after, the first commercial daguerreotype studios begin to open in New York and Paris and later on in London. By the 1860’s there were 200 studios in New York and nearly 400 in Paris. By 1865, there were about 284 studios in London. “The most successful commercial studios built lavish salons outfitted with classical columns, heavy drapery, and fancy furniture to suggest the aristocratic status of their sitters”.[8] In places where it would rain often, a daguerreotype could only be done in the summer months because there was not enough light in the winter months. They were done in the top floors with buildings that has a sunroof because the photographer would have more control over the light. The price of the daguerreotype was still expensive, it cost about a month’s salary for the common person. Even with these prices, many people in Paris were daguerreotyped in the 1840’s and the early 1850’s.[9]
Overall, the daguerreotype was an influential part to the invention of photography. Although there were many people who contributed to the invention of photography, Louis Daguerre is still given the title of being the originator of photography. However, he did not come up with the ideas himself. He had the help of Nicéphore Niépce but Niépce was never given the credit he deserved. Daguerre’s ideas did not come scientifically testing the chemical reactions, they came from trial and error. He was more interested in the money than the actual scientific side of photography. However, his ideas were revolutionary. He discovered that silver iodide is more light sensitive and that the plate needed to be exposed to heated mercury fumes in order to get a visible image. He would then bathe the plate in a table salt solution which would stop the light sensitivity of the silver iodide. This whole process got a patent and was called the daguerreotype. This process of creating a daguerreotype was spread all over the world. Interestingly, the process was spread via morse code to the United States. Everyone was getting daguerreotyped during this time period. Daguerre contributed greatly to the invention of photography. But many other photographers contributed to this daguerreotype process to make it even better. Daguerre basically set up a blueprint for other to follow and many added in their own ideas and ways of creating an image.

[1] Johnson, Denise. The Slide Projector, n.d. http://www.theslideprojector.com./, Lecture 3
[2] Marien, Mary Warner, Photography: a Cultural History. 4th ed (London: Laurence King Publishing ltd, 2014), 3

[3] Marien, Mary Warner, Photography: a Cultural History. 4th ed (London: Laurence King Publishing ltd, 2014), 3

[4] Mayor, A. Hyatt. "Daguerreotypes and Photographs." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 34, no. 11 , 1939), 241
[5] Mayor, A. Hyatt. "Daguerreotypes and Photographs." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 34, no. 11, 1939
[6] Wilder, Kelley, Photography and Science. (London: Reaktion Books, 2009), 2
[7] ""Divine Perfection": The Daguerreotype in Europe and America." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 56, no. 4 , 1999), 41
[8] ""Divine Perfection": The Daguerreotype in Europe and America." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 56, no. 4 , 1999), 42

[9] ""Divine Perfection": The Daguerreotype in Europe and America." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 56, no. 4 , 1999), 42