Daguerre. LJ.M. Daguerre: The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype by Helmut and Alison Gernsheim.

Second revised edition with 124 illustrations. Dover, 1968. Authoritative biography. Includes list of known daguerreotypes by Daguerre. First or early printing of the second edition, lacks ISBN number found in later printings of this edition. Wraps, good with crease on cover.

Summary: 

L.J.M. Daguerre: The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype by Helmut and Alison Gernsheim is a historical and biographical study of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, tracing his development from a theatrical artist to a pioneer of photography. The book first explores Daguerre’s work on the diorama, a popular early 19th-century visual spectacle that used lighting and painted scenes to create lifelike illusions. It then details his collaboration with Nicéphore Niépce, whose early photographic experiments laid the groundwork for Daguerre’s later breakthroughs.

The central focus is the invention of the daguerreotype, the first widely successful photographic process. The authors describe how Daguerre refined Niépce’s methods, publicly introduced the process in 1839, and gained international recognition after the French government released it “free to the world.”

Finally, the book examines the rapid spread of daguerreotype photography across France, Britain, America, and Germany, highlighting its cultural impact and establishing Daguerre’s key role in the birth of modern photography.

Note: On December 14, 1829, Louis J.M. Daguerre and Nicéphore Niepce signed a contract in France to share their research on photography.  Daguerre (November 8, 1787–July 10, 1851) was an artist who was trying to invent photography but hadn’t gotten very far.  Niépce (March 7, 1765–July 5, 1833) had already invented the heliograph; one he made on a pewter plate is now the oldest surviving image made with a camera.  After Niépce’s death in 1833, Daguerre invented the daguerreotype with the photo on a silver coated copper plate.  The secrets of the daguerreotype and Niépce’s heliogravure were made public in 1839 in a deal with the French government, following which photography soon became practiced around the world.