In 1879, the dry plate was invented, a glass negative plate with a dried gelatin emulsion. Dry plates could be stored for a period of time. Photographers no longer needed portable darkrooms and could now hire technicians to develop their photographs. Dry processes absorbed light quickly and so rapidly that the hand-held camera was now possible.
Photograph Using the Dry Plate Process
Made from Glass Negatives and Gelatine Dry Plate
Gelatine dry plates were usable when dry and needed less exposure to light than the wet plates.
Example of a Dry Plate Photograph
Leonard Dakin 1887
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