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ai certain anglo, ii could be casily obscrved that thc shadows tcflocted and insert od thc imago patterns. Namcly, thc box ov thc tramo orcatod thc nccdcd background. I ho daguerreotype shades, when ob-scrvcd at a corrcsponding angle, sccmcd to be pulled insidc. 1 his happencd, hccausc thc shadows acted as mirrors. thcv rcflccted an “imaginary view” and cre-ated an iilusion that thc observcd view was three-di-mcnsional and ca me from bchind the reflccting sur-facc. In addition, thc shadows added a soft violet tint to the reflccting surface. This optical property, spe-cific to daguerreotypes, could not be obtained by usual methods of reproduction.

łmmcdiately after the report about daguerreotype invention was published, the news spread world-widc. Reprinted from French papers, the news reached Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Serbia already in February. Denmark, Finland, Estonia and other countries learned it in summer. In March 1840, Alexander Walcott opened a daguerreotype shop, the first in the USA. One year later, Richard Beard, formerly a coal merchant, opened a portrait shop in London, the first in Europę. Daguerreotypes were popular in Europę until

1851,    when Frederic Archer announced the wet col-loid method. Glass negatives were cheaper, it was pos-sible to reproduce from them ten or morę positives, and their price did not exceed that of one good daguerreotype. In Lithuania, daguerreotypes survived until about 1860.

Ambrotype. In March 1851, Frederick Scott Archer announced the invention of the wet colloid method in The Chemist. The new method allowed to obtain an image of cxcellent shading on a glass plate exposed to direct sunlight in two or three seconds. The modi-fied wet colloid method - ambrotype - which allowed just one unique image, began to be used in

1852.    I his method was very popular in 1854—1857, with many variations (double, triple plates, lampra-type, alabastrina, melanograph, etc.). Ambrotype image was obtained on colloid-painted glass plates of the same daguerreotype standard. Later these plates were put into special boxes or frames. The developed ncgativc was whitened by nitric acid or mercury chlo-ride until a slightly grey background was obtained. Putting the negative on a biack background gave a positive image. This phenomenon was discovcred by Archer and Peter ł ray in 1851. In 1854, a slightly improvcd method, caJled ambrotype, was patented in USA and 1 ngland by Phiiadelphia photographcr James Ambrosc Gutting. Due to its chcapncss, this method immediately outeompeted the daguerreotype. Bccause the dimensions and design of thc im-iw-i were the same as those of daguerreotypes, the customrrs did not evcn catch the worsened gamma or the half-shading. Sometimes dark-violet or black-red głas* was used. Howevct, usuaily the negativr« of atn-brotypc* were madę on transparent glass, and then the other sidc was coated with black varnish, or oth-erwise they were put in a special box, with black pa-per or velvet inside. Freauently, ambrotype images were tinted. Beside this, there were many variations: emulsion was put directly on the black paper, leather or canvas. The most successful variant of the method was tintypc (ferrotype).

Tintype. This was a special positive photo recording method, which allowed a single, unique image — colloid positive on a ferrous metal plate. The process was described in 1852 by Adolphe Alexander Martin in France. After 1860, it became very popular in the USA. Tintype image was created on ferrous metal tin, varnished in black or brown, with dimensions of 60 x 90 mm. Just before the exposure, the tin was painted with a wet colloid emulsion and photo-sensitised. Besides these, there were madę the so-called “little gems” — postmark-sized (approximately 27 x 24 mm) and mounted in medallions or pins. These smali tintype portraits were mounted in post-cards and sent by mail as souvenirs. After 1880, dry, gelatine emulsion coated tintype plates were pro-duced. The plates were developed in special devel-oper or processed as regular negatives, later whitened by mercury chloride, and in this way a direct positive was obtained. For rapid photo recording, there were special cameras, enabling the production of one hun-dred tintype plates. The picture was madę within three minutes. Over the course of time, tintype images faded, bubbles appeared in the varnish coating. Because of its simplicity and cheapness, the method was used by cameramen in the streets, Church festi-vals, fairs — until the middle of the 20^,h century, before it was replaced by 35 mm and instant-photogra-phy cameras.