Daguerreotype
1851 (photographed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'The likeness taken by the photographic process serves merely as a sketch for the miniature, which is painted by M. Mansion, whose productions on Ivory are so celebrated in Paris. They have when finished all the delicacy of an elaborate miniature, with the infallible accuracy of expression only obttainable by the photographic process.' Three hand-coloured Daguereotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
The daguerreotype process was introduced to the public in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, and was hugely popular as a medium for portraiture until the middle of the 1850s. To create a daguerreotype, a silver plated sheet was given a light sensitive surface coating of iodine vapour. After a long exposure in the camera, the image was developed over heated mercury and fixed in a common salt solution. The image lies on a mirror-like surface and is best seen from an angle to minimise reflections.
The daguerreotype process was introduced to the public in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, and was hugely popular as a medium for portraiture until the middle of the 1850s. To create a daguerreotype, a silver plated sheet was given a light sensitive surface coating of iodine vapour. After a long exposure in the camera, the image was developed over heated mercury and fixed in a common salt solution. The image lies on a mirror-like surface and is best seen from an angle to minimise reflections.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Photograph, daguerreotype, case |
Brief description | Daguerreotype, hand-tinted in gilt mount and maker's case; Kilburn, William Edward. Portrait of a woman with a lace shawl, c. 1851 |
Physical description | The portrait shows a young woman in a lace shawl, three quarter-length. |
Dimensions |
|
Style | |
Production type | Unique |
Marks and inscriptions | 'BY APPOINTMENT / MR KILBURN. / 234 REGENT STREET' (Gold embossed stamp on case) |
Gallery label |
|
Credit line | Given by J. L. Nevinson |
Historical context | Donor of this and other fine Daguerreotypes to the V&A in 1939 |
Production | Reason For Production: Retail |
Summary | Kilburn opened a Daguerreotype studio in London in 1846. He advertised his portraits in the press stating that 'The likeness taken by the photographic process serves merely as a sketch for the miniature, which is painted by M. Mansion, whose productions on Ivory are so celebrated in Paris. They have when finished all the delicacy of an elaborate miniature, with the infallible accuracy of expression only obttainable by the photographic process.' Three hand-coloured Daguereotypes by Kilburn were shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851. The daguerreotype process was introduced to the public in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, and was hugely popular as a medium for portraiture until the middle of the 1850s. To create a daguerreotype, a silver plated sheet was given a light sensitive surface coating of iodine vapour. After a long exposure in the camera, the image was developed over heated mercury and fixed in a common salt solution. The image lies on a mirror-like surface and is best seen from an angle to minimise reflections. |
Bibliographic reference | Val Williams and Susan Bright, How we are: photographing Britain, from the 1840s to the present London: Tate Publishing, 2007. ISBN: 9781854377142. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.1154-1992 |
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Record created | April 10, 2007 |
Record URL |
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