W. A. Haeberle Peerless Enlargement [Coupon]

Philadelphia, PA: W. A. Haeberle. Presumed one of a limited edition of 500. Single sheet, printed on one side. Fair. The format is approximately 7.75 inches by 3.125 inches. Rare surviving example of a limited edition photography advertisement/coupon. This is a coupon "Good until used." and at the left side is a detachable portion with sections for Number, Name and address. Tears at right edge and center bottom. Small piece missing at left side. This has been folded in the middle. The text on this coupon reads No.____ No extra charge for Children Good until used. W. H. Haeberle (Successor to Saiber & Co. No. 210 North eighth St. opposite Bijou Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa. Open Sundays from 10 to 4 o'clock. The latest discovery in Photography is the PEERLESS + ENLARGEMENT. The beauty and life-like color speak for itself. In order to make this beautiful were generally know we will put our 500 to those holding these tickets at the following low rates: The holder of this Ticker, M_____is entitled to one Peerless Enlargement, 10x20, framed complete, together with 6 of our fine Cabinets, by paying Agent 50 cents for this Ticket, $1.,00 at time of sitting and $1.00 when work is finished. Positively only 500 Tickets to be sold and none to be had at the Gallery. No other than above Contract recognized. Rain or shine, good pictures anytime. The Agent is not authorized to make any alteration in this Ticket. [Note: A diligent internet search failed to develop information on W. A. Haeberle or its predecessor firm Saiber & Co.--presumed mid-Nineteenth Century to early Twentieth Century ephemera. Josef Maria Eder, in his History of Photography attributes the invention of photographic enlargement to Humphry Davy who realized the idea of using a solar microscope to project images onto sensitized paper. In June 1802 Davy published in the first issue of the Journals of the Royal Institution of Great Britain his An Account of a Method of Copying Paintings upon Glass, and of Making Profiles, by the Agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver. Invented by T. Wedgwood, Esq. With Observations by H. Davy in which he described their experiments with the photosensitivity of silver nitrate. Eder credits the first mention of enlargements after the announcement of the daguerreotype (unique images on metal plates) to John William Draper who in 1840, wrote prophetically in the American Repository of Arts; "Exposures are made with a very small camera on very small plates. These are subsequently enlarged to the required size in a larger camera on a rigid stand. This method will probably contribute very much to the practice of the art" In March 1843 Americans Wolcott and Johnson patented a means of copying and enlarging daguerreotypes. In June 1843 Henry Fox Talbot in his patent for an enlarger for his calotype process which produced a paper negative, mentions that using lenses it is possible to produce a large negative from a smaller, so having made such enlargements has a priority claim to be the inventor of a system for making an enlarged print from a negative, though it did not go into production and was not practical given the lengthy exposures required. In 1848 Talbot recommended to fellow photographer Thomas Malon the enlarging camera made by Thomas Ross of lens manufacturers Ross, Andrew & Thomas. The advent of collodion negatives on glass in the 1850s made enlargement more practical. Achille Quinet's invention of 1852 used artificial light, but was inefficient, requiring very extended exposures. David Acheson Woodward's 1857 'solar enlarging camera' addressed that problem by tapping the brightest light-source then available - the Sun - with mirrors and a condenser. In the 1870s hand-colored enlargements from carte-de-visite prints and daguerreotypes as well as existing negatives were offered for sale in London for two shillings for an A4 print, and three pounds for a life size bust, and R. L. Elliot & Co., of King's Road could print up to 25" x 20" from quarter plate negatives in 1878 using limelight, as suggested by John Benjamin Dancer. Fast bromide and chloride printing papers largely superseded albumen emulsions in the 1880s. The Photographic Society of Philadelphia is the oldest active photography society in the country. Photography has changed considerably since 1860. During the mid-nineteenth century, photography was limited to the few who could afford the tools, equipment, film, chemicals, and studio space. Photographers developed their own processes, ground their own lenses, made their own cameras and tripods. The idea of Instant could be many minutes, images were captured on glass plates and slowly teased into visibility, and the lightest cameras still weighed many pounds. They were the cutting-edge technology of the time. Since 1860, the Society has provided a place to share new technologies, ideas, and techniques. Documentary, artistic, and scientific works by many of its members have featured prominently in the history of American photography. And its purpose remains the same today—to increase and diffuse knowledge of the natural laws which relate to the action of light, and particularly to promote improvements in the art of photography.