Louis Daguerre

Louis Daguerre

1787-1851

Louis Daguerre, a French painter and scientist, is credited with development of the daguerreotype which was published in the early 1890’s by the French government making it the first widely practiced photographic process.  Daguerreotype studios sprung up world-wide.

Daguerre’s interest in photography was motivated by his interest in finding a way to reduce the time needed to produce scenes for his Paris Diorama.  Like several of the photographic pioneers of the time, he sought a chemical means to fix images obtained by the camera obscura.  In 1829 he partnered with fellow Frenchman Joseph Niepce, who had earlier produced the world’s first permanent photograph.  Niepce died in 1833. Daguerre’s subsequent work led him to discover by 1837 a procedure involving the use of silver-coated copper plates treated with iodine vapors prior to exposure, and heated mercury vapor afterward.  Daguerre’s patent was acquired by the French government in 1893 which in turn presented it as a gift “free to the world.”