daguerreotype

American  

[duh-gair-uh-tahyp, -ee-uh-tahyp] / dəˈgɛər əˌtaɪp, -i əˌtaɪp /

noun

1. an obsolete photographic process, invented in 1839, in which a picture made on a silver surface sensitized with iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapor.

2. a picture made by this process.

---

verb (used with object)

daguerreotyped, daguerreotyping

1. to photograph by this process.

daguerreotype British  

/ dəˈɡɛrəʊˌtaɪp /

noun

1. one of the earliest photographic processes, in which the image was produced on iodine-sensitized silver and developed in mercury vapour

2. a photograph formed by this process

---

Other Word Forms

• daguerreotyper
  noun
• daguerreotypist
  noun
• daguerreotypy
  noun
• daguerreotypic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of daguerreotype

1830–40; named after L. J. M. Daguerre; see -o-, -type

Explanation

An old-fashioned black-and-white photograph with a shiny, almost mirror-like surface is a daguerreotype. The daguerreotype was named for its inventor, Louis Daguerre, known as one of the fathers of photography. Daguerre's 1837 process involved using a sheet of copper that was coated with a thin layer of silver and needed just 20 minutes of exposure; it replaced an earlier method that required eight hours to produce an image. Less expensive types of photography made the daguerreotype obsolete within 20 years, and today they're extremely rare.

Example Sentences

Daguerreotype images of models were already being used by artists in the 1840s.

From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2016

In 1857 I abandoned the Daguerreotype process entirely, and took to collodion solely; and, strangely enough, that was the year that Frederick Scott Archer, the inventor, died.

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by Werge, John

Although the greatest number of mechanical appliances were employed in the Daguerreotype branch of photography, art was not altogether ignored in its practice.

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by Werge, John

This put an end to the clearing, Mr. Catherwood had a recurrence of fever, and in the intervals of sunshine Dr. Cabot and myself worked with the Daguerreotype.

From Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. II. by Stephens, John L.

From the time that I relinquished the Daguerreotype process, in 1857, I devoted my attention to the production of high-class collodion negatives.

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by Werge, John