Niepceotype/Hyalotype - the highest photographic resolution ever

 

The albumen on glass negative was invented in 1847 by Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor (1805-1870), a cousin of Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography. Originally using starch, Niepce de Saint Victor found out that egg albumen can be used as a binder for silver iodide on glass plates (Osterman-Romer, History of Photography, 31). The process was called Niepceotype. In 1848, a positive on glass contact printing from albumen on glass (Hyalotype) was invented by Langenheim brothers, Philadelphia. Prof. Mark Osterman (GEM, Rochester, NY) states that because of the long exposure time as well as long development of plates, this process was not used for studio photography but only for field, landscapes, architecture or still-life. No photographic technique could surpass the quality and resolution of Niepceotype ever since.