Photographic Auction Daguerreotypes
Daguerreotypes were first presented to the public in 1839 by Louis Daguerre. The "Dag" was a beautiful image on a thin silver layer covering a copper plate. This was a direct positive image and for that reason, was a mirror image of what was being photographed. To make a dag, sometimes required 10 -20 minutes with no movment but ample lighting. . The developed image was usually protected in a small case with a glass cover. The process used mercry vapor to bring out the image and made it quite dangerous for photographers.