When image was all

IN Adele Kenny’s introduction to this Schiffer book she says weightily that “to speak of photographic case art is to speak of the Daguerreian Era”. This short-lived period that began just before 1840 and ended by 1870 was an exciting time which reflected the freshness and energy of a new and developing art – photography, made possible by Louis Daguerre, who is credited with making it available to everyone – in the US “they took the process and ran with it”.

The daguerrotype case is used to describe the variety of cases made during the mid-19th century for the purposes of displaying three types of early photographs: daguerrotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes – the “poor man’s daguerreotype”. All were unique images produced on metallic or glass plates. But daguerrotypes were delicate, subject to oxidisation and surface abrasion and they needed special care, hence these lovely small boxes, some produced by jewel casemakers, which offered a practical solution and a decorative effect. Millions of photographs were made during the mid-19th century and a nearly equal number of decorative cases were designed to display them – no Victorian home was complete without one.

With more than 450 colour illustrations and price guides, the contents discuss photographic forms, the artists and casemakers, designs and wood-framed and thermoplastic cases. Novelty cases, including some very rare and collectable japanned examples with mother-of-pearl decoration are included, together with post-mortem photographs in cases; death was always a Victorian obsession. For camera buffs, artists, dealers and collectors.