A Lesson on Identification and a Kindred Spirit
I periodically peruse the annals of Technorati for the word “daguerreotype.” Greater than half the time the results are from articles using the word as simile for some ancient person/place/thing for which the author has no stronger adjective.
Occasionally, however, there is an article such as this one that deals specifically with the art. Even more rare are those articles that speak of the art as a living medium. Though Sally J’s intent is to educate on the difference between an Ambrotype and a Daguerreotype she is rather more successful in winning me over with the following:
“I would pay oodles of money for a daguerreotype or ambrotype of an iPod.”
and only slightly disappoints with the follow-up edit:
“OK. Forget what I said about the iPod. That was just the first thing that came into my head. What I really want is to see a daguerreotype or ambrotype of the Neverwas Haul.”
Absent of these asides, Sally J’s article is an informative basic introduction to the differences between a daguerreotype and an ambrotype. I know more than one daguerreotype collector who has claimed a rather fetching mislabeled “ambrotype” off of eBay.
Jonathan
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If you like this then please subscribe to the Leatherworking Tools for Daguerreotype Cases
I’ve had to teach myself an awful lot in the service of this wonderful art of mine but of those few have been as rewarding as the wealth of information I’ve absorbed about the bookbinding industry art. I received this e-mail from a reader and since he/she forgot to include a return e-mail address I thought that I’d post my reply here for all to see.
“What kind of tool do you use in the third pic from end under Making Daguerreotypes.”
The tool that I’m using in that picture is a Skife Knife that uses common disposable razor blades. That tool is very handy for thinning small areas of hides or for the Bookbinder On The Go. For more delicate thinning jobs I use my favorite tool, the Schärf-Fix 2000.
Though it sounds like an ’80s action-adventure movie, the Schärf-Fix 2000 is an invaluable tool for making the thinnest possible shavings of leather for covering Daguerreotype cases and other sundries. While not cheap, I can’t imagine using any other tool to accomplish the arduous task of thinning leather.
All the best,
Jonathan