Have you ever gazed upon a daguerreotype and been intrigued by what lies beyond its corrosion? Thanks to researchers at Western University of Ontario in Canada, those lost images don’t have to remain distant memories – they can be brought back into focus with ease.

Daguerreotypes were an early method of creating images on silver plates, but these often tarnish over time and obscure any images once contained therein. Now there is an innovative technique using X-rays that see through damage and reveal any images hidden therein.

How it Works: By focusing X-rays onto a corroded plate, scientists can track mercury (Hg), used as part of the photographic process. If all image particles remain undisturbed beneath its surface, this technique can reconstruct images with surprising quality even when surfaces have become severely corroded.

The study also explores using different X-ray energies to attain optimal results, not only retrieving an image but also gathering additional details about its tarnish itself. By analyzing X-rays in a vacuum chamber, scientists are able to gain more knowledge regarding both surface structures as well as substructures of daguerreotypes.

Professor Tson-Kong (T.K.) Sham explains that their team attempted this experiment in 2018 but needed to refine it further in 2019. Now they’ve discovered they can get much better results using much softer X-rays available at Canadian Light Source (CLS), which offers one and only synchrotron light source; an extremely bright particle accelerator capable of producing extremely bright lights.

This research is an outstanding achievement in cultural heritage preservation. It offers a way to recover lost pieces of history while better comprehending early photographic techniques. Sham and his team published their study of this process and results here, so anyone can read it!