Daguerreobase: New standards for describing daguerreotypes, Europe's earliest photographs

摘要

The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process in the history of photography. Named after the inventor, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, each daguerreotype is a unique image on a silvered copper plate. Since the metal plate is extremely vulnerable, most daguerreotypes are presented in a special housing. European daguerreotypes are rare and spread over many European institutions and private collections. To increase understanding of the impact of photography on Europe's social and cultural history, information on the surviving daguerreotypes should be brought together.