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Learn more about the photographic techniques available in the mid-19th century

William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)

Prince Albert (1819-1861) 1848

Hand-coloured daguerreotype | 8.6 x 6.3 cm (image) | RCIN 2932487

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In February 1847 the photographer William Edward Kilburn (1818-91) showed examples of his coloured daguerreotypes, made by adding fine coloured powders to the photographic plate, to the Society of Arts. The following year, Prince Albert (1819-61) commissioned Kilburn to create a portrait of him using the new technique. This is one of two surviving hand coloured daguerreotypes produced from the sitting.