Although William Henry Fox Talbot had been working on a process that recorded a negative image, Daguerre was the first to publicize his results and the discovery of the photographic process is attributed to Daguerre. They are sealed in glass to protect the plate from atmospheric and physical damage. In America, daguerreotypes were most often placed in small hinged cases made of wood with a leather or paper covering. The daguerreotypes distinguishing features are its highly polished silver support and its quality of appearing as a negative, or a positive depending upon the angle of viewing and the direction from which light falls upon it. Left photo is a daguerreotype viewed as a positive.
Right photo is a daguerreotype viewed as a negative.
Due to limitations and difficulties of producing a large plate, daguerreotypes were rarely made any larger than 6 to 8 inches, known as whole-plate size. The most common size produced was sixth-plate size and measured 2 by 3 . It is estimated that by 1853 as many as three million daguerreotypes were made in the United States alone. Photos Images 2000 David Mishkin. All Rights Reserved.