Daguerreotype to Digital

A Brief History of the Photographic Process

Salt Prints - The most common paper print until the albumen
Period of Use: 1839 - ca. 1860

Example of salt print

The salted paper print was the first type of paper print used in photography, and remained the most popular paper print until the introduction of the albumen in the 1850s.

Salt prints could be made from both paper and glass negatives. Paper negatives produced a grainy and slightly mottled image. Glass negatives produced a sharp crisp image. Salt prints have white highlights.

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