daguerreotype

The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silver plated copper or brass plate. The surface of a daguerreotype is like a mirror, with the image made directly on the silvered surface; it is very fragile and can be rubbed off with a finger, and the finished plate has to be angled so as to reflect some dark surface in order to view the image properly.