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We found some "Daguerreotype" photo's at a house we have been clearing out yesterday, I'd say looking at them that they were taken around 1860!! maybe earlier, some maybe later. One or two are in reasonable condition, some in very poor condition.

First time I've seen photos of this kind, but well aware of the process.

 

For Ben, it's known as photos on "tin", an early type of photo that rivaled glass plates.

They not really on tin, but very thin steel sheets, usually around 2" by 3" in size.

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Yes, they had to make their own plates and process them on sight. Those cameras weighed a ton, and to see some of the shots out in the middle of nowhere in the 1800's required stamina!

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This is probably the oldest family photo I have in my possession.  The little boy is my maternal grandfather, born 1887 so this was perhaps taken 1891ish.   It’s very delicate and precious to me and is on what appears to be China-type material.  

A2-A452-EA-1-B59-4-A81-A034-A6798-F63362

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Those photos want scanning at the highest resolution possible, then saved on at least two formats, ie DVD and another format. If you have the skills, digitally correct the colours and restore a copy, then print it out on glossy photo/printer paper.

A few years ago, I tried to get a business up and running digitally restoring old photos, lack of clientele was the problem.  Living in a rural area, not too many people wanted to save their old photos... Another feller tried the same thing, in the same small town where my wife has her business. He closed up shop after a few months.

Now we have much affordable and user friendly software available, back then it was one of two very expensive software and neither were user friendly.

I did restore a few old photos, one was a panoramic WW2 photo of a US army company after their basic training outside their barracks. It was in dreadful shape, faded, water damage, tears and folds. I spent many hours on that project. I charged $100, even though it was incomplete, I told my client it would cost much more and needed many more hours to bring it back to "as taken". He was more than satisfied, it was a birthday gift to his Father, who was in the photo.

 

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  • 4 months later...

Can I show some old pictures I've worked on. Up to now the owners have been delighted. Or is this thread closed ?

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Had a go at this picture for my neighbour. It's her Dad, during WW1. Bottom picture is the original. B.

 

IMG-20180508-123745.jpg

Scan-All-Betty-s-cc.jpg

 

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The squaddie in the above picture is my neighbour two doors down. He was in Gibraltar when he was eighteen. He is eighty two now.  B.

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