An early daguerreotype studio, as depicted in a woodcut by George Cruikshank in 1842. This illustration shows the interior of Richard Beard's daguerreotype portrait studio at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London's Regent Street, the first professional photographic portrait studio in England, which opened in 1841. In this early period, Beard employed Wolcott's Mirror Camera, which used a concave mirror instead of a lens.
a. A daguerreotype studio was often situated at the very top of a building, which had a glass roof to let in as much light as possible.
b.The subject sat on a posing chair placed on a raised platform, which could be rotated to face the light. The sitter's head is held still by a clamp.
The stages of making a daguerreotype portrait
1. An assistant polishes a silver-coated copper plate with a long buffer until the surface is highly reflective (y). c.The highly polished plate is then taken into the darkroom, where it is sensitized with chemicals ( e.g. chloride of iodine, chloride of bromine ).
2.The operator places the sensitized plate into a camera placed on a high shelf (z). When the sitter is ready the operator removes the camera cover and times the required exposure with a watch. [ In this illustration, the operator is using Wolcott's Mirror Camera, which was fitted with a curved mirror instead of a lens ].
3. The exposed plate is returned to the darkroom where the photographic image on the silvered plate is "brought out" with the fumes from heated mercury (d). The photographic image is "fixed" by bathing the plate in hyposulphate of soda. The photographic plate with the daguerreotype image is then washed in distilled water (e)and dried.
4. Finally, the finished daguerreotype portrait is covered by a sheet of protective glass and is either mounted in a decorative frame or presented in a leather-bound case and offered to the customer for close inspection. Early daguerreotype portraits were very small and to appreciate the fine detail these customers are using a magnifying glass.
Daguerreotype Exposure Times1839 Daguerreotype
half-plate & whole plate 15-30 minutes1841 Daguerreotype ninth-plate & sixth- plate 20 sec - 90 seconds1842 Daguerreotype ninth-plate & sixth- plate 10 sec - 60 seconds
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