Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: 1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

  1. #1
    David J. Heinrich
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    575

    1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

    These daguerreotypes by Charles Fontayne and William Porter, on September 24th, 1848 at 1:55PM, are phenomenal!

    Their daguerreotypes can be looked at at 30x and still look crisp, according to the authors of the article! Incredible for a photograph taken 162 years ago. Check it out yourself: goto the website I link to, which has the article about these masterpieces and their restoration, and drag the little blue box around one of the plates. A view on the right at 10x shows you the detail level.

    I'm not so sure about the 30x claim, I think 10x is really about the limit on them from what I see, but still phenomenal for 162 years ago.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Culver City, CA
    Posts
    180

    Re: 1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

    thanks for posting this. very cool!
    Mike Boden

    www.mikeboden.com
    Instagram: @mikebodenphoto

  3. #3
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Everett, WA
    Posts
    2,997

    Re: 1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

    I love seeing stuff like this. The detail is excellent, because it is on a polished metal plate. Thanks for the link!

  4. #4
    David J. Heinrich
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    575

    Re: 1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

    I wonder...does that give better detail than say you get from a high resolution film like Adox Pan 25 (~330 lp/mm or so, I think) or Kodak Aerographic Panatomic X-II (400-500 lp/mm)?

  5. #5
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Everett, WA
    Posts
    2,997

    Re: 1848 Daguerreotypes Bring Middle America's Past to Life

    Instead of silver particles suspended in gelatin, the image is formed on a silver plate. Now, here is the problem: polishing that plate! You can see on the 10x magnification all of the polishing marks. If the plate is polished into a real mirror, then of course you will get better resolution. But you won't be able to print from it!

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •