One of the earliest forms of photography – the daguerreotype – was invented in France and quickly adopted by American photographers in the mid-1800s. These early photographs remain enchanting, intriguing and increasingly rare since each image is a one-of-a-kind item that cannot be reproduced via a negative.
The Ohio State University Libraries holds a collection of approximately 1,500 daguerreotypes, along with hundreds of ambrotypes and tintypes, according to Lisa Iacobellis, instructional services coordinator. The daguerreotypes were featured in an exhibition as part of the Libraries’ Saturday Spotlight Series, which highlight materials from the Rare Books & Manuscripts Library. The series presents one-day public exhibitions at Thompson Library, which are proposed by and curated by Ohio State faculty and graduate students from across the university.
Kate Shannon, who teaches photography at Ohio State’s Mansfield campus, says the idea for the daguerreotypes show came from “talking with my students about the invention of photography. Many of them are young enough that they haven’t even used film photography. We have one little daguerreotype in the classroom, and students are really fascinated by it.”
Shannon said she “kind of knew” Ohio State had a collection of antique photographs, but was wowed when she discovered the extent of Ohio State’s collection. Housed in the Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, the Floyd and Marion Rinhart collection of cased photographs is one of the most extensive resources of its kind, and provides a glimpse into American life during the 19th century and the infancy of photography. The resource led Shannon to showcase these early images in a Saturday Spotlight last spring, “When This You See, Remember Me.”
“Being able to hold a daguerreotype in your hand is so different than seeing a reproduction. These highly reflective, little objects are powerful. You have to touch them and sit with them,” she says.
What makes them so special?
- Daguerreotypes are often very small and enclosed in cases meant to be held in your hand and viewed up close. “They are intriguing and unusual. The images act like a mirror; they are hard to look at unless you hold them at a certain angle. A lot of people say they are a little eerie or disconcerting,” Iacobellis explains.
- They are one-of-a-kind. Each daguerreotype is a unique piece, and was physically in the camera with the person being photographed, including those of grim-faced couples, mothers and children, even Walt Whitman and John Wilkes Booth, all of which are in the Libraries’ collection. “The objects were literally recording the light coming off of their bodies, and that is really intriguing,” Shannon says.
- The antique, multi-layered images are quite fragile. They consist of a silver-plated copper plate that has been polished to a mirror finish, according to Sarah Casto, photograph and paper conservator. “The final product is a mercury-silver amalgam on the copper plate, often gilded with gold chloride to make them more stable. To protect them, they were placed in small cases under glass. They are very intimate objects; you would hold them in your hand to view them.”
Shannon credits the various teams at the Libraries for their expertise – and patience – in making the exhibition a reality. To exhibit rare items like these means walking a fine line.
“It’s a balance of access versus preservation,” says Casto. “We could simply preserve these things by keeping them safely locked in a vault. But that runs counter to our mission of access and education. So, my job as a conservator is to balance access to these objects while ensuring they are preserved as long as possible. We control the environmental conditions in our storage area, and make sure they are as stable as possible when they are accessed by curators like Kate or for a class or research project.”
Shannon’s first step was to choose the antique images she wanted to include in her exhibition. “The collection is huge, with each item enclosed in its own box and held in storage cabinets in cold storage ... so it’s not something you can just browse through,” Iacobellis said. “But we have about 30 binders of notes, which she used as a starting point. I know the condition of the pieces so I reviewed her selections first.”
From there, Casto painstakingly examined each composite object that might end up in the exhibition. “I looked at them from a holistic standpoint,” she said. “Is the case stable? Are the hinges broken? Is the plate package sealed and protected properly? Do we need to add conservation tape to work as a vapor barrier? Does the glass need be cleaned?”
Ultimately, about 100 daguerreotypes and a few ambrotypes and tintypes were displayed in the Saturday Spotlight Series exhibition, viewed by about 30 to 40 campus and community visitors. “There was a lot of energy in the room,” Shannon says. “These little objects are so magical, it’s hard not to get excited about them.”
Jolie Braun couldn’t agree more. The curator of modern literature and manuscripts is in charge of the Saturday Spotlight Series. “The series is a way to promote our vast collections of materials and get them out to the public, not just for the campus community but for everyone. Plus, it’s a way to help people know more about the Libraries. They expect us to have old books and maybe manuscripts. But they may not be aware that we have a photograph collection that is really astounding.”
She adds, “My responsibility as a curator is to share these collections with not just researchers and classes but beyond that, to welcome in the local community and to find ways to shine a light on the special collections we have here.”
Braun plans four of the Saturday shows each year – two in the fall and two in the spring, with faculty and graduate students proposing ideas. “Last year, we also had exhibitions on witchcraft, on James Thurber’s vision, and on Central Asia. This year, we have plans for events on mythical creatures, women’s health, an Ohio-based fine press, and the arts and crafts movement. Even one on cheese.
“I never would have come up with the idea of doing an event on mythical creatures or cheese,” she says. “But that’s a way for grad students or faculty to come in with their own perspectives and identify new ways to see our collections. And that’s really exciting.”