Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 122c

Daguerreotype

1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The daguerreotype process was introduced to the public in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, and was hugely popular as a medium for portraiture until the middle of the 1850s. To create a daguerreotype, a silver plated sheet was given a light sensitive surface coating of iodine vapour. After a long exposure in the camera, the image was developed over heated mercury and fixed in a common salt solution. The image lies on a mirror-like surface and is best seen from an angle to minimise reflections. The surface of daguerreotypes is delicate and easily damaged, so professionally finished images were presented in a protective case or frame.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Daguerreotype
Brief description
Hercules Grey Ross at Balfour by Horatio Ross (British, 1801-86), daguerreotype; Britain; 1850.
Physical description
Hercules Grey Ross at Balfour by Horatio Ross (British, 1801-86), daguerreotype;
Dimensions
  • Cased photograph height: 87mm
  • Cased photograph width: 78mm
  • Cased photograph depth: 4mm
Subject depicted
Summary
The daguerreotype process was introduced to the public in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, and was hugely popular as a medium for portraiture until the middle of the 1850s. To create a daguerreotype, a silver plated sheet was given a light sensitive surface coating of iodine vapour. After a long exposure in the camera, the image was developed over heated mercury and fixed in a common salt solution. The image lies on a mirror-like surface and is best seen from an angle to minimise reflections. The surface of daguerreotypes is delicate and easily damaged, so professionally finished images were presented in a protective case or frame.
Collection
Accession number
243-1946

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2003
Record URL
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