The Business of Daguerreotypy: Strategies for a New Medium

Daguerreotypes (cased photographic images), introduced in 1839, required different strategies for marketing, pricing, and securing patronage than other media did. The Philadelphia firm of T.P. and D.C. Collins incorporated knowledge from past pursuits, modeled some of their practices on those of other studios, and employed novel strategies to appeal to clients. To meet and create demand for a novel product, the Collinses depended in part on the introduction and timing of innovative methods and materials and corresponding capital expenditures. An analysis of their entrepreneurial and marketing strategies between 1845 and 1855 allows us to better understand how a small, urban businesses that employed limited technical improvements operated in an environment in which consumers increasingly prized innovation.