Family Portrait

In 1839 when the French government established a lifelong pension for Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre (French, 1787-1851), the inventor presented his new photographic process free of restrictions or fees to the world. Daguerre's manual of instruction was translated into every major language and went through twenty-one editions in two years. The daguerreotype received instant success, and its lustrous, silvery tones and grainless image eclipsed all other processes in quality and presentation, including Talbot's calotype, which had been introduced at the same time. The daguerreotype prevailed until the introduction of the collodion process in 1851.

Most importantly, the daguerreotype revolutionized the concept of portraiture. While by no means inexpensive, the daguerreotype was vastly more accessible economically to a broader public than had been the painted portrait. A variety of sizes was available, but the most popular were the 1/4 plate and 1/6 plate because they were much cheaper and required shorter exposures than the standard whole plate size, which measured 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches.

In the 1840s and 1850s a 1/6 plate daguerreotype might cost about $2.00, while a whole plate could cost more than $30.00. For the average working person, even a 1/6 plate daguerreotype represented a major expenditure and a luxury reserved for special occasions. The price increased with the addition of hand-coloring, a delicate operation for the fragile surface of a daguerreotype. A half-plate daguerreotype, like this family portrait of a well"dressed couple and their child, would have been quite costly and reserved for the moderately wealthy.