Glass negative

About the image medium

Name

Glass negative

Notes

From the 1850s, photographic emulsions were made on glass supports, which ranged in size from large whole plate (6 1/2 " x 8 1/2") to the small quarter plate (3 1/4 x 4 1/4"). The earliest negatives were made by pouring an emulsion layer on to the glass, allowing it to dry and then exposing it. By the end of the nineteenth century, coated glass plates were manufactured in bulk and were widely used until the 1920s.

Subjects