Victorian song sheets provide a fascinating glimpse into contemporary attitudes to photography, such as this response to the new instantaneous hidden cameras. The camera obscura was used throughout the Middles Ages and even the Renaissance. Inventors embellished the invention with the addition of biconvex lenses in the second half of the 16 th century. These lenses allowed the images projected by the camera obscura to be brightened. Once particular use of the camera obscura was its ability to allow the viewer to see the solar eclipses without hurting their eyes. This proved useful for astronomers. The camera obscura was also used by artists too, as an aid for drawing and painting. The projected image could be traced, which helped artists with their graphical perspective in artwork that showed landscapes. Calotype images were negatives, like Niecpe’s original photographs, and produced more blurred pictures than the daguerreotype. However, Talbot’s invention required less exposure time. As the daguerreotype process only creates one image at a time, multiple copies of the same picture could only be produced by taking several photographs, or by engraving directly from the daguerreotype plate. The baseboard was hinged so that when the two standards were pushed together it could be folded up behind the rear standard. As well as making the camera more portable it provided protection for the focusing screen.

Romantic history painters of the 18th and 19th centuries are referenced in Simon Norfolk’s photographs, through the dramatic skies, the colours and the scale of the works. The ruined landscape has been aestheticised—perhaps a memorial to what has been destroyed.Traditionally the slots in screw heads were aligned (fig. 18), only Meagher of the top makers seems to have ignored this on some of his cameras. Bellows Believe it or not, television didn’t exist in Victorian times! Therefore, Victorians entertained themselves by going to the theatre or watching live music. Visiting the music hall was a popular British pastime for poorer people. For a penny, customers were treated to a variety show, showcasing musicians, comedians and plays. Bellows could be parallel sided (fig. 20) or tapered towards the lens (fig. 21). They were normally made of leather but cloth or paper was also used. Leather bellows comprise an outer thin leather covering, an inner cloth layer and, between the two, cardboard panels to provide rigidity. The finish is normally smooth but some examples have a pronounced grain or pattern, they may also have a lacquer covering. A distinctive dot pattern is sometimes present on earlier examples from around 1860.

Niépce's associate, Louis Daguerre, was inspired by his findings. Daguerre went on to develop the ‘daguerreotype’ process, the first publicly announced and commercially viable photographic process. The daguerreotype only needed minutes of camera exposure. This was a drastic improvement over Niépce’s method. Daguerre’s invention also produced much clearer and detailed results. The details of this method were announced to the world in 1839. This is the year typically accepted as the birth year of practical photography.

What is a victorian camera?

In 1886, after some minor modifications, Gray’s camera was manufactured in America by the Western Electric Company and sold by the Scovill Manufacturing Company. Realising the, as yet untapped, commercial possibilities of the camera, Carl Stirn of New York entered into negotiations to buy the patent rights from Gray.