History Bites- Photography Technology Series, Part I: Glass Plate Negatives

What are glass plate negatives? They seem bulky and fragile, but dry glass plate negatives started a photography revolution when they debuted in the 1870s. Previously, photographers were tied to studios or troublesome portable darkrooms. With this new technology they could capture images in any location, carefully pack the exposed glass plates, and develop them later.

Learn how this technology works and why the images it creates are so prized. Collections Coordinator Nate Meyers will feature glass plate negatives from the Chandler Museum artifact collection and reveal how curators and collectors preserve this fragile legacy.

After the program you can see images made from glass plate negatives in the exhibition “Black and White in Black and White: Images of Dignity, Hope, and Diversity in America,” on view at Chandler Museum through October 17, 2021.

Host or Publisher Chandler Museum