Primary Source Sets

Daguerreotype

Introduced worldwide by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, daguerreotypes were one of the first methods of commercially producing photographs. They are printed on a piece of copper that is polished with silver and can be differentiated from ambrotypes because of this silver finish. If a person wanted a color photo, the photo would have to be tinted by hand, as seen by the flush in a young Amanda Reed’s cheeks in this daguerreotype.