Dagerotipija u Zagrebu (1839. – 1855.)
Daguerreotype in Zagreb (1839-1855)

Summary/Abstract: This paper summarizes the existing and brings numerous new data on daguerreotype in Zagreb in the mid-19th century. Based on various articles published in the periodicals of the time, the author evokes the atmosphere around the arrival of this invention in Zagreb (1839) and reconstructs the level of knowledge about this early photographic process in the Croatian society. A particular focus has been placed on Demeter Novaković, the first Croatian daguerreotypist, who most probably acquired this technique during his stay in Paris at the time when the process was publicly demonstrated. The work of other daguerreotypists active in the Croatian capital – mostly travelling from place to place – has been outlined based on the information available through newspaper ads and scholarly literature. They notably include Johann Bosch, a representative of the so-called Vienna school of daguerreotype, as well as Ferdinand Rahmann and Joseph Kallain, whose rivalry and competition in the quality of daguerreotyping is the first recorded example of photographic competition in Croatia.

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