The exquisite detail of a daguerreotype allows Danforth to capture the elemental solidity of an unusually shaped gourd
(above), sealed beneath glass inside one of his handcrafted brass frames, nestled in red velvet and black lambskin, like
a well-thumbed leather-bound Victorian keepsake. Whether portraying a chopping board of kiwi fruit or a North Carolina
cityscape (opposite), Danforth’s daguerreotypes feel like instant historic artifacts. His signature, carved in the back of
every copper photographic plate, marks each unique image.
sealed box, so Danforth also handcrafts these for Danforth agrees: “I think it is the most perfect
each image. photographic medium. There’s no enlargement or
“I lay down a brass mat and glass on top of the negative, nor any transition of the image. The image
plate so that it is secured and protected from air is transposed directly onto the plate. At a molecular
and chemicals. The silver will tarnish if exposed to level, it becomes part of the silver. If handled correctly,
air, so the seal on the case is important. Then, to that image will last forever.”
protect the glass, I design a gorgeous case covered In recent months, Danforth’s daguerreotypes have
in soft, supple, luxurious calfskin leather that feels been capturing images of modern technology, in a
like an antique book.” series he calls The Human Interface. “I have pictured
Danforth explains that daguerreotypes are my iPod and my Xbox,” he explains. “They take on a
simultaneously the most fragile and most stable new look, a new feel, under the gaze of a daguerreo-form of photography. “If the image isn’t touched, it type. I can’t imagine what an anthropologist would
can last for thousands of years after regular photo- make of it if he picked those images — in their hand-graphs, negatives, and digital memory chips have crafted wooden cases — out of the dust 10,000
crumbled away.” years from now.” ×
Danforth’s craftsmanship makes even the freshest
images resonate with history. Daguerrotypes by Danforth: shinyphotos.com
“Daguerreotypes are often Lilliputian wonders,
with details so intricate they can best be appreci-
ated with a jeweler’s loupe,” says Mark Johnson, British expatriate Peter Sheridan has worked for the
president of the Daguerreian Society. “The closer past 20 years in Los Angeles as a foreign correspondent,
one looks, the more amazing they are.” covering the West Coast for media in the United Kingdom.
