19th August 1839 / 2014: 175 years of Photography

[veraikon]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The first photo (heliograph) was taken in the late autum 1826 by Nicéphore Niépce . In 1829, Daguerre partnered with Nicéphore Niépce. Niépce died in 1833.

Daguerre continued experimenting, and evolved the process which would subsequently be known as the Daguerreotype in 1837.

 

Daguerre went public with his invention in 1839. At a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences on 7th January of that year, the invention was announced and described in general terms, but all specific details were withheld. Under assurances of strict confidentiality, Daguerre explained and demonstrated the process only to the Academy's perpetual secretary François Arago, who proved to be an invaluable advocate. Members of the Academy and other select individuals were allowed to examine specimens at Daguerre's studio. The images were enthusiastically praised as nearly miraculous, and news of the Daguerreotype quickly spread. Arrangements were made for Daguerre's rights to be acquired by the French Government in exchange for lifetime pensions for himself and Niépce's son Isidore; then, on 19 August 1839, the French Government presented the invention as a gift from France "free to the world", and complete working instructions were published.

 

 

Therefore the 19th August 1839 is called as the birthhour of Photography*

 

 

my suggestion -hands on: take your analogue equipment and use it at the 19th of August

 

 

 

 

* The term „photography“ was first used at the 25th. February 1839 by the german astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler (prob. after personal communication from the academy meeting on 7th January )

[pgk]

Inevitably you may find that there is disagreement about both the date and invention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fox_Talbot

 

Current film technology has evolved from Fox Talbot's process, not Daguerre's so it is possibly more apt to celebrate the birth of film photography from Fox Talbot's demonstration to the Royal Society - 25-1-1839?

 

Darkening of silver salts in light was known from far earlier and it was probably the fixing of the formed silver image which was the real photographic breakthrough by Fox Talbot together with the ability to produce numerous positive prints. Unfortunately Daguerre's process produced a one off image and was effectively a dead end.

 

I visited the Fox Talbot museum in Lacock earlier this year and found it to be quite interesting if a trifle small.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[veraikon]

The invention of photography (a word created by the astronomer Mädler and published at the 25th Feb 1839) was a process which lasted from about 1815 - 1860. A lot of indviduals were involved in this process. The most prominent were Niepce, Daguere, Talbot, Scott Archer, Wedgewood , Herschel, Maddox... and a lot of more people .

Niepce has made the first permanent photography ( I had the fortune to see it last year at Mannheim) but Daguerre (or better Arago who forced the french gouvernement to put Daugerre´s patent as public domain ) has spread the photographic process worldwide.

 

Nevertheless it is the 19th of August 1839 the "Birthday of Photography". It is a convention.

It is the day of going "public domain" with an photogaphic process developped by Daguerre and Niepce.

After this day the daguerrotypic method spread in Europe within weeks (execpt GB) and worldwide within a year !.

 

It was a fortune for Talbot that Daguerre has licenced his method to a british partner before the 19th of august. So the great gift of the Grande Nation was to the world except Great Britain and Ireland . British photographer had to pay a licence fee. So Talbot had a better chance to prompte his method (calotypie), for which got his patent in 1841.

 

 

After Daguerre's discovery was announced (7th Jan. 1839 at the french Academy of Sciences), without details, Talbot showed his three-and-a-half-year-old pictures at the Royal Institution on 25 January 1839

 

In 1851 (the year of Daguerre's death) the wet collodion process enabled glass to be used as a support ("wet plates") . From this "wet plate" process in the 1870-80 the "dry plate" method was developped - the predecessors of our curent "film".

 

So you see - it lasted a long time and at a lot of people were involved .

 

But the 19th of August 1839 is the _symbolic date of birth_ of photography.

[veraikon]

PS: it was today 175 years ago:

 

14.08.1839: Louis Daguerre lässt seinen Fotoprozess heimlich in England und Wales patentieren

[7quote]