Depth of Field: The Universe of the Daguerreotype

Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter’s 1848 Cincinnati Riverfront Panorama is both an iconic image and scientific marvel. The human stories within the daguerreotype still live and reveal themselves anew with each fresh dive into city directories, newspaper articles, and historical archives. Through the lens of microscopes, ever-evolving in strength and precision, viewers can witness the ongoing chemical processes on daguerreotype plates. Images from these microscopes reveal how a combination of elements, introduced in the initial development process over 170 years ago, continue to engage and interact with the environment.

This project aids in the understanding of deterioration of plates over time and the development of promising conservation methods to preserve these treasures of history.

Curator: Sara Williams, Reference Librarian for Arts and Special Collections, Genealogy and Local History at Main Library

Artists: Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter