Classic Photography School
This site presents the early near-secret art of photography (sometimes then called the Daguerrean and photogenic art), by an early practitioner. It dates from 1849. At the time there were no photography schools or even formal photography courses or textbooks, so this document provides a rare collection of photography and darkroom techniques.
This "photography textbook" is useful as a cultural artifact, as well as an homage to the early photographic pioneers who required subtle and hard-earned skill to produce the simplest portrait. Photo pioneers needed to understand chemistry and laboratory techniques, and to be willing to handle hazardous materials, before they were ready to begin. Of course science marches on, and the owners of this web site assume no risk for the material presented; please use it at your own risk. (If you're looking for a modern photography school, there is no shortage of them; check out, e.g.: The Art Institutes, Penn Foster, or Antonelli College).