RE: Daguerreotypes and Tintypes

-----Original Message-----
From: Kerik [mailto:kerik@kerik.com]
Sent: April 19, 2006 9:34 AM
To: alt-photo-process-L@usask.ca
Subject: Re: Daguerreotypes and Tintypes

Judy says:

> There are two manuals in print, one by the Collodion Journal folks,
> last
> I heard in Rochester, NY -- Scully and Osterman.
>
> The other by John Coffer, a less polished affair as I recall (it's
> around here somewhere but probably lost along with so much else), but I
> would assume at least as authoritative.
>
> Don't ask me where to get them, though I imagine that Coffer is still
> at
> his NY "country house"...?
>
> J.

>True enough. I have them all. Coffer even has a DVD out now. That being
>said, I would still recommend any one just starting out in wet plate wait
>for the manual/DVD that Quinn will be offering soon
>http://www.collodion.com. In the mean time, Towler's Silver Sunbeam, the
>classic treatise from 1864 is available online courtesy Stanford
>University here:

>http://albumen.stanford.edu/library/monographs/sunbeam/toc.html

>Scully/Oserman are at http://www.collodion.org

>John Coffer is here: http://www.johncoffer.com/ But don't try to send him
>email. He lives off the grid and snail mail is the only mail he gets.

>Kerik
>www.kerik.com

Hi all and thanks for the information!

I am not sure that I want to try to pursue either processes but I am
fascinated by both. I only own two antique photos one being a dag and the
other a tintype. I love them both.

I recently started thinking about daguerreotypes again after seeing a book
called the "Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre". The book caught my
attention because the cover photo is The Vampyre (one of my favourite early
French photos). The book is an interesting read which has Louis mad from
mercury poisoning and believing that the end of the world is coming. He
wishes to photograph 10 things before the end and to reunite with his lost
love. So far the book is good but I just started.

I think that I will be taking people's advice and begin by doing some
research. I ordered "The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and
Modern Science" from Amazon.ca. This will be my starting point and I will
probably use the bibliography as a guide to further research as well as the
resources recommended here.

My current plan is research and in the summer of 2007 I will take some kind
of class (maybe at the Photographer's Formulary) as I am going to China this
summer. Summers off is one of the benefits of being a teacher.

As Kris pointed out, I do live in Canada but I am too far to the west (near
Vancouver) to take classes with Mike Robinson.

I just hope that this is not all academic as I have not yet made a single
alt-photo due to personal stuff and work (as well as union work). On top of
that I am working on a diploma in photography part-time so time is limited.

Thanks again to all for the advice and information. I will be very careful
no matter what I do as the processes can be dangerous. Though I am not a
chemist I did work in industrial first aid and safety before becoming a
teacher which I hope will help.

Ehud
Received on Mon Apr 24 07:57:26 2006