Daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The Daguerreotype camera was invented by Louis Daguerre, and Joseph Niepce. Niepce's wet plate faded quickly so the two partnered up to improve the camera. Niepce died in 1883, leaving Daguerre by himself to work on the camera. After several years of experimenting, Daguerre made an important discovery by accident. In 1835, he put an exposed plate into his chemical cabinet, and a few days later, to his surprise, found that the plate had developed. Daguerre later concluded that this was because of the mercury vapor from a broken thermometer. From this accidental discovery, the Daguerreotype camera was born. Though a new addition to the world of photography, it was as big as a microwave, needed a heavy tripod, and photographers had to handle many chemicals to be able to make the wet plate needed to take a picture. Thus, the challenges of the Daguerreotype made it of limited use to many people.