Daguerreotypes
Daguerreotypie was the first publicly available photographic process, and for over a decade, it was the one most commonly practiced. It was invented by Louis-Jaques-Mandé Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839. By 1860, new processes which were less expensive and produced more easily viewed images had almost completely replaced it.
To make a daguerreotype, the daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish, treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive, expose it in a camera for as long as was judged to be necessary, which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting; make the resulting latent image on it visible by fuming it with mercury vapor; remove its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment, rinse and dry it, then seal the easily marred result behind glass in a protective enclosure.
To make a daguerreotype, the daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish, treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive, expose it in a camera for as long as was judged to be necessary, which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting; make the resulting latent image on it visible by fuming it with mercury vapor; remove its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment, rinse and dry it, then seal the easily marred result behind glass in a protective enclosure.
Simulation re-colorized portrait
Richard Beard
Richard Beard (1801-1885) was born in Devon, the son of a grocer. He moved to London in 1833 and profitably established himself in the coal trade. After the announcement of Daguerre’s invention in 1839 Beard had recognized the potential of commercial portraiture. He experimented to make the daguerreotype process more practical and opened England's first photographic studio on the roof of the Royal Polytechnic institution, Regent Street.
Beard's studio was a great financial success and in 1841 he obtained the sole patent for the Daguerreotype process in England, Wales and the British colonies. Although there were huge profits from his chain of photographic studios in London and Liverpool and from the sale of licenses to take daguerreotypes, Beard was eventually ruined by his many legal actions against rivals and went bankrupt in 1850. Though Beard was describing himself in 1851 as a "photographic artist" and exhibited at The Great Exhibition, there is little evidence that he was himself an extensive practitioner. The surviving Daguerreotypes attributed to him are largely the works of others.
Below are a couple of “Beard Patentee” daguerreotypes from my personal collection.
One has a very rare mat, with vine decoration and single leaves to 4 corners. The image opening is rectangular and has the Beard Patentee stamp centrally at the bottom. The others are all housed in brass pinchbecks, some of which are hallmarked “T. Wharton 1841” with the Royal Coat of Arms ”Lion and Unicorn”. These daguerreotypes date to circa 1942-5 and sit in a typical domed burgundy/red Morocco fliptop case.
Beard's studio was a great financial success and in 1841 he obtained the sole patent for the Daguerreotype process in England, Wales and the British colonies. Although there were huge profits from his chain of photographic studios in London and Liverpool and from the sale of licenses to take daguerreotypes, Beard was eventually ruined by his many legal actions against rivals and went bankrupt in 1850. Though Beard was describing himself in 1851 as a "photographic artist" and exhibited at The Great Exhibition, there is little evidence that he was himself an extensive practitioner. The surviving Daguerreotypes attributed to him are largely the works of others.
Below are a couple of “Beard Patentee” daguerreotypes from my personal collection.
One has a very rare mat, with vine decoration and single leaves to 4 corners. The image opening is rectangular and has the Beard Patentee stamp centrally at the bottom. The others are all housed in brass pinchbecks, some of which are hallmarked “T. Wharton 1841” with the Royal Coat of Arms ”Lion and Unicorn”. These daguerreotypes date to circa 1942-5 and sit in a typical domed burgundy/red Morocco fliptop case.
The below portrait does not have a Beard Patentee marking, but is very likely a Beard daguerreotype as well. It is housed in a domed Morocco flip-top case (1841), sits in a Wharton pinchbeck and has a rare mat documented in an article by Jason Wright: "Identifying and Dating Richard Beard Patentee Daguerreotypes". In the article this mat is referred to as RB-WSSR8 Wreath Small Standard Rectangle: "a standard slim-line mat with no extra space padding unlike the Luxury pack versions. This is the only specimen known." So this would actually make this the second specimen known."
And a couple more Beard Patentee portraits ...