American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype

S. D. HumphreyS. D. Humphrey1858

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Chapters
5
ISBN
9780405049194

Tags

Art Photography Chemical PesticidesTechnology HistoryPhotography TechniqueEarly PhotographyStep-by-Step GuideCraft ManualHow-to Manual19th Century America

Summary

The American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype is a practical manual on daguerreotypy by the 19th-century American photographer and publisher Samuel Dwight Humphrey (1823–1883), published in its fifth edition in New York in 1858—the most widely circulated and most complete version of the book. The full title states its purpose: to give the most approved and convenient methods for preparing the chemicals and various compounds, embracing the daguerreotype, electrotype, and other processes for taking sun pictures. The book is organized by operational sequence: first the selection and care of the silver plate, buffing the surface with polishing powder and a leather pad, then sensitizing (coating) the plate with vapors of iodine, bromine, and other halogens; then loading the plate, exposing it in the camera, developing with mercury vapor, removing the coating, and gilding and fixing with a gold chloride solution, along with practical tips on background coloring, transparent coloring, solutions for removing spots and stains, methods for cleaning water and mercury, sealing wax for bottles, and red polishing powder. In his preface the author stresses that daguerreotype portraits were then considered more durable than any other "sun painting," making a concise and reliable pocket manual necessary. The text is plain and the steps concrete: a craft book meant to be followed, and a primary source for studying how photography was standardized and commercialized in mid-19th-century America. Humphrey himself published his first manual in 1849 and founded the world's first photography magazine, The Daguerreian Journal, in 1850, exerting considerable influence on the spread of the daguerreotype in America. The original is a quarto volume, pages 13–214 of the text, with several pages of advertisements.

Editor's review

这本书的价值不在“可读性”，而在“可触摸的历史”。它写作于摄影术诞生仅十余年之际，作者不是在回忆，而是在手把手教同代人怎么把一块镀银铜板变成一张能传世的肖像：怎么打磨、怎么用卤素蒸气敏化、怎么在暗箱里掐着秒数曝光、怎么用水银蒸气把潜影“逼”出来。今天读它，等于拿到了19世纪中叶美国照相馆的一本内部操作规范。 值得一提的是作者本人。汉弗莱1849年出版第一部银版手册，1850年创办世界上第一份摄影刊物《达盖尔人杂志》，既是技师也是出版人。这本1858年的第五版比早期版本大为扩充，改用了新书名，内容更为完整，因此成为后世重印与引用最多的版本。 需要提醒的是，书中大量药剂（汞蒸气、氰化物类定影剂等）按今天的标准属于高度危险品，阅读时请把它当史料与工艺文献，而不是照单操作的实验指南。对于摄影史、技术史、物质文化研究者，以及迷恋“慢摄影”手工工艺的读者，这是一本小而扎实的原始文献。

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Reading tips

  1. 建议先读作者1858年的前言，了解第五版的定位与增补缘由，再进入具体章节。
  2. 把本书当作史料而非操作手册：涉及汞蒸气、强酸强碱与氰化物类药剂的步骤，只作理解，不要模仿。
  3. 可配合古腾堡计划（Project Gutenberg）第167号电子版对照阅读，原书页码与章节标题保留完整。
  4. 若关注工艺细节，可按“抛光—敏化—曝光—显影—定影”的顺序做流程笔记，勾勒19世纪银版法的完整工序链。

About the publisher

S. D. Humphrey

S. D. Humphrey is a publisher whose output focuses on the fields of art and photography. Publicly available information is limited, and the database currently holds only one title from this publisher. Its representative book is the American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype, written by S. D. Humphrey himself. The work deals with the craft and practice of daguerreotype photography and belongs to the genre of early technical photography manuals, reflecting the publisher's emphasis on photographic history and technical literature. Based on the available catalogue, its author resources consist mainly of S. D. Humphrey's own writings, and its publishing character leans toward practical photography guides and historical technical texts, making it a useful reference for readers interested in early photographic methods and art literature.

Contents

  1. Chapter 1: Polishing and Buffing the Plate—Coating the Plate—Exposure in the Camera—Development—Mercury Treatment—Removing the Coating—Gilding and Fixing—Coloring the Daguerreotype
  2. Chapter 2: Background Coloring—Transparent Coloring—Gilding Solution—Spot-Removing Solution—Solarized Images—Purifying Water—Cleaning Mercury—Adhesive Paper—Blackening Equipment—Bottle Sealing Wax—Red Powder—Rotten Stone—Potash Solution—Hyposulfite Solution and Its Substitutes—Gilding Liquid—Brightening Solution—Bleaching Solution
  3. Chapter 3: The Electrotype and Other Auxiliary Processes
  4. Chapter 4: Supplementary Formulas and Operating Notes
  5. Appendix: Equipment, Chemicals, and Instructions

FAQ

这本书有中文译本吗？ 据目前可查的资料，本书未见正式出版的中文全译本，市面流通的多为英文原版影印本与公版电子版。中文读者通常借助古腾堡计划电子版或现代摄影史著作中的引述来了解其内容。
书名里的“American”是指内容只讲美国吗？ 不是。它指的是作者身份与美国出版背景。书中讲述的是达盖尔法这一源自法国的摄影工艺在美国的实践版本，内容为通用的操作流程与配方，并不局限于美国本土题材。
1858年版和更早的版本有何不同？ 汉弗莱1849年首发的手册仅81页，1853年出第三版；1858年的第五版改用了现在这个更完整的书名，篇幅扩至两百余页，内容大幅增补，是各版本中最完备的一版，也是后世重印与引用最多的版本。
书中的化学配方今天还能照做吗？ 不建议。书中大量使用汞蒸气显影以及氰化物类、强腐蚀性药剂，按现代安全与环保标准属于高危险操作，需要专业通风橱与防护装备。阅读时应将其视为技术史文献，而非今日可照搬的实验指导。
达盖尔法影像有什么特点？ 达盖尔法在镀银铜板上形成正像，画面随观察角度呈现明暗变化，细节极为锐利，金属光泽独特。作者在前言中即强调，当时的达盖尔肖像被认为比其他“太阳绘画”更为耐久，这也正是他推出新版手册的理由。

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About the author

S. D. Humphrey Author

S. D. Humphrey is an author about whom very little biographical information is publicly available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background cannot be confirmed, and only one of his works is held in the collection. He is known to Chinese readers through the American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype, a work in the fields of art and photography that deals with the procedures, materials, and techniques of the daguerreotype process and bears the practical character of an early photographic technical manual. Such manuals helped transmit experience and spread technical knowledge during the nineteenth-century diffusion of photography, and Humphrey's writing accordingly leans toward step-by-step explanation and operational guidance rather than theoretical discussion. Given the limited public information, further verification of his life and historical standing is still needed, while his surviving work offers a glimpse of his contribution to recording early photographic processes.