The daguerreotype picture process, which provided the very first photo of a person, is announced at the French Academy of Science on this date in 1839.
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What is a daguerreotype?
Developed by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, the daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic procedure (1839-1860) in the history of photography. Each daguerreotype is an unique image on a silvered copper plate.
Why was the daguerreotype so important?
The daguerreotype ushered in a new age of pictorial possibility. Prior to it, experiences could only be caught after hours of painting, drawing or composing, and even then, it wasn’t done completely. Daguerreotypes offered people the ability to protect their history.