Petersham School in Miss Laura’s Day, c. 1850
Toronto. One thing a daguerreotype had going for it from the ‘get go’ was resolution. The terribly slow process was (depending on lens quality, plate, focussing, movement, etc.) always capable of very high resolution. Even today, the existing mid 1850s dags are remarkably high in resolution.
George Dunbar came across some at the National Gallery of Art (NGA in Washington DC) site such as this school photo c1850 (go to the site and experiment to see the resolution available). In addition to a photo and link, George commented on the remarkable degree of resolution in a well composed daguerreotype.
Be sure to visit the NGA site for more examples.
