Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes
Albert and Victoria commissioned photographs of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes
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In the late 1850s a list was drawn up of the daguerreotypes in the Royal Collection, identifying ninety-two items. According to the list, the main subjects were portraits of the royal family, members of the royal household and notable figures. The vast majority of the objects listed are historically missing: some would have been given away to friends and family; others may have been misplaced or damaged over the years. However, due to the royal couple’s systematic documentation of their collections via photography, various negatives of original daguerreotypes and ambrotypes have survived, some depicting items from the 1850s list. One of the two earliest photographic portraits of Prince Albert shown below is a notable example of a negative depicting a now lost daguerreotype.