The discovery which I announce to the public is one of the small number which, by their principles, their results, and the beneficial influence which they exert on the arts, are counted among the most useful and extraordinary inventions.

------It consists in the spontaneous reproduction of the images of nature received in the camera obscura, not with their colours, but with very fine gradation of tones.

------M. Nicephore NIEPCE, of Chalon(s)-sur-Saone, already known for his love of the arts and his numerous useful inventions, whom sudden death unexpectedly tore from his family and from science on 5 July 1833, had found after many years of research and persistent labour one principle of this important discovery; by numerous and infinitely varied experiments he had succeeded in obtaining the image of nature with the aid of an ordinary camera obscura; but his apparatus did not give the necessary sharpness, and the substances on which he operated were not sufficiently sensitive to light, so his work, however surprising in its results, was nevertheless very incomplete.

------For my part, I was already occupied with similar researches. It was in these circumstances that relations were established be­tween M. NIEPCE and me in 1828 [sic], as a result of which we formed a partnership with the object of perfecting this discovery.

------I brought to the partnership a camera obscura modified by me for this application which rendered a larger field of the image sharp and greatly influenced our later success. Some important modifications which I made to the process, combined with the continual researches of M. NIEPCE, augured well, when death came to separate me from a man who besides vast and profound knowledge had all the qualities of the heart; may I be permitted here to pay a just tribute of esteem and regret to his memory, which will always be dear to me.

------Upset by this loss, I abandoned my work for a while; but soon, pursuing it with renewed eagerness, I attained the goal which we had set ourselves.

------This apparently happy result did not, however, render the effects of nature sufficiently correctly, because the operation lasted several hours.

------In this state the discovery was extraordinary, but it would not have been of any utility. I realized that the only way to succeed completely was to arrive at such rapidity that the impression could be produced in a few minutes, so that the shadows in nature should not have time to alter their position; and also that the manipulation should be simpler.

------It is the solution of this principle that I announce today; this new process to which I have given my name, calling it DAGUERREOTYPE, and which differs entirely as regards rapid­ity, sharpness of the image, delicate gradation of the tones, and above all, the perfection of the details, is very superior to that invented by M.NIEPCE, in spite of all the improvements which I made to it. The difference in its sensitivity to light as compared with M.Niepce's process is as 1 to 70, and compared with chloride of silver, it is as 1 to 120. In order to obtain a perfect image of nature only three to thirty minutes at the most are necessary, according to the season in which one operates and the degree of intensity of the light.

------The imprint of nature would reproduce itself still more rapidly in countries where the light is more intense than in Paris, such as Spain, Italy, Africa, etc., etc.

------By this process, without any idea of drawing, without any knowledge of chemistry and physics, it will be possible to take in a few minutes the most detailed views, the most picturesque scen­ery, for the manipulation is simple and does not demand any special knowledge, only care and a little practice is necessary in order to succeed perfectly.

Everyone, with the aid of the DAGUERREOTYPE, will make a view of his castle or country-house: people will form collections of all kinds, which will be the more precious because art cannot imitate their accuracy and perfection of detail; besides, they are unalterable by light. ------Even portraits will be made, though the unsteadiness of the model presents, it is true, some difficulties [which need to be overcome] in order to succeed completely.

------This important discovery, capable of innumerable applications, will not only be of great interest to science, but it will also give a new impulse to the arts, and far from damaging those who practice them, it will prove a great boon to them. The leisured class will find it a most attractive occupation, and although the result is obtained by chemical means, the little work it entails will greatly please ladies.

In conclusion, the DAGUERREOTYPE is not merely an in­strument which serves to draw Nature; on the contrary it is a chemical and physical process which gives her the power to reproduce herself.