HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE EXAMPLE OF SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES. A PHOTOGRAPH AS AN OBJECT

Abstract

In the first part of the paper, the focus is on historical and technical aspects of the invention of photography, beginning with the first research works conducted by J.N. Niépce up to the patenting of daguerreotype in 1839 by L. Daguerre. In the further section of the paper emphasis is put on the fast spread of photography; short profiles of the first Polish photographers who contributed to promoting photography: J. Giwartowski, K. Beyer, W. Rzewuski, and M. Strasz, are given. Furthermore, the early-19th-century discourse between the artistic and photographic circles is briefly discussed, with some comments by e.g. E. Delacroix, P. Delaroche, Ch. Baudelaire, L. Daguerre quoted. Subsequently, the early displays of photographs in exhibitions and museums are described, e.g. during the 1851 First World Exhibition in London and at the South Kensington Museum in 1858. What follows this is a presentation of selected photographic techniques, shown against the events related to given inventions, e.g.: daguerreotype, salt print, techniques based on the collodion process, compounds of dichromates and chromates, calotype, cyanotype. Further, source reference is given to describe potential threats related to the degradation, damage, and a possible repair of images recorded in photographs. Another section of the paper is dedicated to presenting artistic movements in photography which formed in the late 19th century. The final part speaks of the questions related to e.g. storage humidity and temperature, display of photographic objects that are in museum collections, and pH of materials and frames; the author also reflects on the need to digitize collections.