The History of Photography

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A basic understanding or the history of photography can help you determine the approximate date of a photo, and the best way to care for it.

The first commercially successful photographic processes were based on one amazing property of silver nitrate; it is a chemical that turns from a light silvery gray to black when exposed to light.

1839 ~ Daguerreotype The image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver nitrate. After “fixing” the image, the negative image appears positive when held at the proper angle. These images are the sharpest and clearest of any old photographic method.

1839 ~ Talbotype or Calotype A sheet of paper soaked in a solution of silver nitrate salts was exposed and treated to fix the image. This negative image could then be reproduced indefinitely by placing it on top of another sensitized sheet and shining light through the paper negative. This paper-based negative created images that were not very sharp.

1847 ~ Glass Plate Negative & Wet Plate Photography A glass plate was coated with collodian (partially nitrated cellulose with alcohol) to hold the silver nitrate on the surface. The clear glass overcame the fuzziness of the calotype, and allowed multiple copies of each picture to be made. The plate had to be used before the collodian dried, so this process was known as wet plate photography.

1849 (1858 USA) ~Stereo Photographs Two photographs are mounted side by side, showing the same subject from slightly different perspectives, so that when viewed through a "stereoscope" the image appears three dimensional. There were stereo daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, etc., but these are rare, the vast majority of surviving stereoviews are card mounted prints.

1850’s & 1870’s ~ Hyalotype, Magic Lantern Slides & Stereopticons The hyalotype, a glass plate positive, was developed in the 1850's. In the mid 1870's they became widely available as "magic lantern slides." These were projected onto a screen or wall from a machine called a magic lantern or stereopticon, which passed a bright beam of light through the slide and an enlarging lens.

1854-1870 ~ Ambrotype In 1854, the glass plate ambrotype was introduced; an offspring of the wet plate method. By mounting the negative image in a case with a black backing, it could be viewed as a positive image. This form was quite popular until about 1870.

1856-1900 ~ Tintype Here, the photographic emulsion was spread thinly over the face of a thin plate of tinned iron that was blackened before the emulsion was applied. The black background made the negative image appear positive. The tintype could be produced very inexpensively, and was much sturdier than glass plates.

1871-1920 ~ Dry Plate Negative The gelatin dry plate was invented in 1871, and by 1880 supplanted the old collodion wet plate. These convenient dry plates continued in use until about 1920 when they were replaced by the plastic based films.

1889 ~ Plastic Nitrate Film A nitrate based, plastic roll film was developed. Due to a tendency to curl, this film also lacked popularity. A non-curling version was developed in 1903 and began to be widely used. In 1913 a sheet form of this film was developed and began to compete with the glass plate negative, which it eventually supplanted.

1900 ~ Kodak Camera The Eastman Kodak company introduced the Kodak Brownie box roll-film camera in 1900, making photography accessible to the average person.

1939 ~ Safety Film Nitrate film was very flammable, and when burned gave off a poisonous gas. Safety film, a non flammable plastic based film, was developed in 1939.

1937 ~ Polaroid Polaroid Corporation was founded in 1937 and is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948 (black & White). The first color instant film was developed by Polaroid in1963.

1936 ~ Kodak Kodachrome Kodachrome was the first multi-layered color film. Kodak also pioneered the 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.

1940 ~ Ektachrome Kodak developed this first color reversal film to be used as a positive transparency or slide.

1963 ~ Polaroid Instant Color Film

1972 ~ Kodak110-format A camera with a 13x17mm frame

1983 ~ Kodak Disk Camera A disk camera, using an 8x11mm frame, similar to “spy”cameras..

1991~ Kodak Digital Camera The first digital SLR, the DCS-100, was a modified Nikon F3.

2004 ~ Kodak ceases production of film cameras

 

PAPER

1839-1860’s ~ Salted paper - Regular paper was impregnated with sodium nitrate and silver salts to form silver nitrate, was used from 1839 (Talbot) into the 1860's.

1850-1900 ~ Albumen Paper - The emulsion was made from egg whites, which dispersed the silver nitrate evenly, adhered to the paper well, and dried clear.

1879 - Present ~ Bromide Paper - Printing paper coated in an emulsion of silver bromide (rather than silver nitrate), the paper commonly used in modern photographic prints.

Prior to the turn of the century the papers used in photography were generally very thin. These pictures were usually pasted onto cardboard mounts to make them more durable and to prevent curling. The size and character of these mounts offer some clues to the age of a photograph. They are important too because many photographers printed the name and address of their business on the backs, providing more clues to the provenience of the pictures attached. Occasionally, thoughtful owners even wrote identifying information on the back of these.