Final answer:
Nineteenth-century photography techniques for preserving photos included using special chemicals or ink derived from a cuttlefish. However, the prominent methods involved chemical preparations on glass plates and advancements like gel on paper and camera design improvements.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bethany is learning about historical photography techniques from the nineteenth century. Two methods were used to help preserve photographs. One involved using special chemicals, while another method utilized ink derived from a cuttlefish. In those times, photographs were chemical records on specially treated glass plates, a process that evolved significantly over the years.
During the mid-19th century, the collodion process was developed, which involved applying a mix of cellulose nitrate and soluble iodide on a glass plate. This prepared the plate to be sensitive to light and ready to produce negatives. To create permanent images, these negatives were then printed onto light-sensitive paper.
Additionally, advancements like George Eastman's dry gel on paper, the creation of dry glass plates, and improvements in camera design, like apertures, made photography more accessible and less reliant on cumbersome processes. This ultimately led to photography being embraced by the masses with the introduction of the Kodak camera.
As for the inks used, iron gall ink was one notable type, made from tannic acids and iron salts from various vegetables. This was transported to paper using dip pens for drawing, but was not particularly related to photographic preservation. The cuttlefish link is a distractor, as their ink was not a known method for photographic enhancement.