369
response to the announcement was overwhelming.
According to one account, only an hour after Arago’s
lecture, all the opticians’ shops were besieged, but
could not rake together enough instruments to satisfy
the onrushing army of would-be daguerreotypists; a
few days later you could see in all the squares of Paris
three-legged dark-boxes planted in front of churches
and palaces. All the physicists, chemists, and learned
men of the capital were polishing silvered plates, and
even the better-class grocers found it impossible to deny
themselves the pleasure of sacrifi cing some of their
means on the altar of progress, evaporating it in iodine
and consuming it in mercury vapor” (qtd. in Gernsheim,
1968, 101).
Théodore Maurisset’s “La Daguerreotypomanie,”
published in December 1839, offers a humorous depic-
tion of the French public’s tremendous enthusiasm for
the new discovery. In the lithograph, a smiling sun shines
down on a carnivalesque scene of endless multitudes
seeking, posing for, purchasing, taking, and manufactur-
ing equipment for making daguerreotypes.
Soon after Arago’s lecture, Daguerre wrote a pam-
phlet entitled Historique et description des procédés du
Daguerréotype et du Diorama, par Daguerre [A History
and Description of the Process of the Daguerreotype and
of the Diorama, by Daguerre], published by Alphonse
Giroux in Paris, to meet the intense public demand for
more information about the process. Daguerre also com-
missioned lenses from Charles Chevalier to be used in
cameras manufactured to his specifi cations and to be
sold by Giroux. As word of the daguerreotype spread
beyond France, Daguerre’s instructions were quickly
translated and republished throughout the world. Yet
early attempts to replicate Daguerre’s success by follow-
ing his procedure often resulted in disappointment, as
novices found the process diffi cult to master. In response
to these frustrations, Daguerre agreed to offer demon-
strations of his process and his advice to the public.DAGUERREOTYPE
Ford, James. Portrait of a Boy with
Gold-Mining Toys.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
© The J. Paul Getty Museum.