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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

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

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Etymology

Origin of daguerreotype

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

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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

See Examples For:

daguerreotype daguerreotyped daguerreotyping

The detail that the average person takes 450 selfies a year is powerful, especially when contextualized against their disposability—compared, for example, with the daguerreotype.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

I was Grace Kelly and that nameless bride in the antique store daguerreotype and every woman who has ever been married wearing anything at all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024

She said one image in the collection, of a lively dog who clearly did not wish to stay still for any length of time, was instead created using a method known as "daguerreotype".

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

“There is a slumped weariness in his expression,” Semtner said of the last photograph taken of Poe, a sixth-plate tintype based on a daguerreotype.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2022

It was a daguerreotype of a man and a woman.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

It is curious how municipal, economical, and social life are thus simultaneously daguerreotyped and indicate their mutual and intricate association in the French capital.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 29, March, 1860 by Various

Fortunately her face was accurately daguerreotyped in his memory, so that he felt certain of recognizing her, under whatever circumstances they might meet.

From Timothy Crump's Ward A Story of American Life by Horatio Alger

The exact scenes are now fully daguerreotyped on my brain and heart both, as well as on my manuscript journal.

From Marital Power Exemplified in Mrs. Packard's Trial, and Self-Defence from the Charge of Insanity by Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard

His image, daguerreotyped on her heart, no light breath could dim.

From The Good Time Coming by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

Her quick anger was gone, and the brightness of the joyous anticipations of the something that was to bring so much to one she so dearly loved daguerreotyped itself on her expressive features.

From Lily Pearl and The Mistress of Rosedale by Ida Glenwood

With returning consciousness came the quickened perception which sometimes follows a slight concussion of the brain, daguerreotyping upon my mind each individual of these fiery ranks, in vivid, even painful clearness.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 57, July, 1862 by Various

In some intense moods of mind, it seems as if every sunbeam had daguerreotyping power, and memory the preparedness to receive and retain.

From Daisy in the Field by Susan Warner

We are only roughly daguerreotyping the man as he appeared, preparatory to one terrible incident which made him an important character in this narration.

From The Coward A Novel of Society and the Field in 1863 by Henry Morford

"Jessie Brown" and "The Poor of New York," and other plays directly daguerreotyping ordinary incidents, at any rate show that the drama is an art that responds instantly to the pulses of the time.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 32, June, 1860 by Various

The discovery of the daguerreotyping process was announced in January, 1839.

From Great Inventions and Discoveries by Willis Duff Piercy

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