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I ran across the following web page on 19th century photographic processes and equipment:
http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=AEL5141
The site reprints an 1868 book entitled "A Manual of Photography." Pages 74-94 are particularly interesting if you have read Kingslake's work on the History of the Photographic lens. The reprint also contains information on wetplate photography and other processes used during the period.
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Dave, thanks so much for the reference. I'm just in the process of creating a basic photography class, and have been researching information on the beginnings of photography. This will be a nice resource from what I see. There is also a wonderful book, I believe called the History of Photography that covers the beginnings as well. A wonderful resource on the subject.
For others, the first two pages are blank, so it's not your browser. The 7th page is the table of contents.
dave - thanks for posting that. i am always interested in that kind of information. i was particularly intrigued by his discussion (pg 166) of the "expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights" method of dealing with high contrast situations, which of course was the long-practiced precursor of the zone system, so many years before ansel "invented" it. i also enjoyed his comments about using the "largest stop that conditions will allow" for landscape work to enhance the apparent depth, in this day when most practicioners stop way down to ensure maximum depth of field.