Daguerreotypes are images of exceptional sharpness and detail.
Depending on the angle of the incoming light, they appear either positive or negative, so viewing the image requires finding a specific angle.
All daguerreotypes exist as unique, one-of-a-kind objects; they were always presented in cases, lockets, or frames.
On the one hand, this practice was borrowed from the tradition of framing painted portrait miniatures. But such presentation also served a protective function.
The photographic layer of a daguerreotype is extremely fragile. It is even compared to the dust on a butterfly’s wings, so even slight contact with the surface can cause mechanical damage. Thus, in some examples we can see scratches and abrasions.
Daguerreotypes must be protected from exposure to light, oxygen, and mold; therefore, storing and exhibiting such objects is a very complex task that requires great care and professional expertise.
Before the invention of photography, visual art was the only means of capturing and conveying information about the world. Photography took on this informative role, becoming a new standard of authenticity.
But the daguerreotype is a paradoxical object. On the one hand, it is a photograph, a documentary record; on the other hand, it does not fulfill the primary social function of photography — the wide dissemination of visual information, as it exists in a single, unique copy.
Perhaps it is this dual nature of the daguerreotype, as a material object and as a photographic image, that explains its enduring appeal and its value to collectors.
Last updated on 17.12.2025
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