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The purpose of the "vignettes" is to share knowledge with you that I have gained during 14 years of intensely pursuing, buying, examining and selling daguerreotypes. I will attempt to keep my own opinions at a minimum, but it is difficult because so much depends on information and subjectivity. Most importantly, please enjoy the material and spread the word about the beauty and historical importance of daguerreotypes. I have prepared three articles that should increase your appreciation of daguerreotypes. Also, included below is some additional information about daguerreotype sizes and about the scanned images used throughout this web site.
| Information Papers About Dags | |
| Condition | How to identify potential problems, illustrated with scanned images. |
| Buying Dags | A primer for unravelling the mysteries of the daguerreotype marketplace. |
| Origins | A comprehensive explanation of the dating of daguerreotypes, illustrated with many scanned images. |
ABOUT THE SCANS
Since the web is an evolving technology, but the sharpness and brilliance of daguerreotypes are permanent, it is quite difficult to successfully merge the mid-19th century with late 20th century computer software into concise reproductions without having large files with long download times. My designers and I have experimented in several areas and have developed a formula for presenting professional, high quality scans. A couple items you need to understand. First, my scans show nuances in daguerreotypes that are nearly invisible to the naked eye, so if you wonder about certain spots and dots, please ask. I don't use "magic" to remove any problem areas and if anything; I over describe visible flaws. Daguerreotypes that have been scanned in black & white have either no added color or just a hint, maybe in the cheeks. Those presented in color were done for obvious reasons, although in some instances, it is the natural oxidation that has the most striking hues. Please be patient with the time it takes to load each daguerreotype.
PLATE SIZES
The Frenchman Daguerre, who is universally credited with inventing the photographic process that received his name, daguerreotypes, used copper plates clad with a thin layer of silver, that were 6 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches. These dimensions were called a whole plate. The other sizes; half (4 1/4 x 5 1/2), quarter (3 1/4 x 4 1/4), sixth (2 3/4 x 3 1/4), ninth (2 x 2 1/2) and sixteenth (1 3/8 x 1 9/16) were theoretically the number of smaller plates you could obtain if you carefully cut the whole plate into pieces, i.e.; a sixth plate meant that six plates were available from that one larger portion. While these measurements were the "perfect" standard, many operators trimmed their plates or used larger mats and cases to give a client more "bang for their bucks". The term "undersized plate" represents shortened examples while "oversized" indicates a little extra value.
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