Behold the granddaddy of cameras! The 1839-model daguerreotype camera in the picture was the first camera to be sold commercially.

In a daguereotype the image is exposed directly onto a polished silver plate. It is a direct image-making process with no 'negatives' involved. It produced images 16.5 cm × 21.5 cm.

Named after French cmist Louis J. M. Daguerre, dagueeeotypes are preserved by sealing them in vacuum-sealed glass cases filled with nitrogen.

The warrantee label on the side of the camera was signed by Daguerre himself.

Photo courtesy of the JCII Camera Museum.