Restrictions to Access

The items in this collection are extremely fragile due to their age, the materials used to make them, and the fact that they are all unique originals. Daguerreotypes have no equivalent of a negative and cannot be physically reproduced. Researchers may be presented with a digital copy instead of original materials if the Photographic Archivist has determined the original should not be handled.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Materials in public domain.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Daguerreotype Collection (P0008), year image was made [when known], North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.

Acquisitions Information

The items in this collection came to the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives from the Southern Historical Collection (#4090) and a number of different and unrelated sources.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Persons:
• Bennehan, Richard, 1743-1825.
• McNair, John Calvin.

General Subjects:
• Daguerreotype--North Carolina.
• Daguerreotype.
• Family--North Carolina--Photographs.
• North Carolina--Photographs.
• Photographs.
• Portrait photography.

• Portrait Collection (P0002), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Ambrotype Collection (P0007), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Tintype Collection (P0009), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
• Miscellaneous Pictures (#4090), The Southern Historical Collection

Daguerreotypes are considered to be the first photographic process that produced images that could be made widely available to the general public, due to the relative simplicity of the process and high quality of the images produced. The process was originally developed in France by Louis M. Daguerre in 1839 and was improved upon until the process was superseded by other simpler photographic processes that produced higher quality images (such as ambrotypes and tintypes). At the base of the daguerreotype is a silver-coated copper plate that has been coated with a light-sensitive iodine residue. The plate is then exposed to light via a camera and captures an image of what is in front of the camera. The image becomes visible after further processing. These types of images were typically encased in glass to protect them and to make the copper plates more decorative. This format was in use around the world from 1839 into the early 1860s.

The Daguerreotype Collection contains 5 images taken of individuals and couples seated or standing for portraits, circa 1839-1860. Individuals appearing in the images have been identified whenever possible. Known individuals are listed as subject access points, as are identified locations. Included are images of John Calvin McNair, who endowed a lecture series on science and religion at the University of North Carolina and an image of a painting of Richard Bennehan of the Cameron family of Orange County, N.C. When the plates have been measured, their size is also listed. The materials came from various donors.

Daguerreotypes are typically described using the following terms:

• Whole plate: 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches
• Half plate (1/2): 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches
• Quarter plate (1/4): 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 inches
• Sixth plate (1/6): 2-3/4 x 3-1/4 inches
• Ninth plate (1/9): 2 x 2-1/2 inches
• Sixteenth plate (1/16): 1-3/8 x 1-5/8 inches