Daguerreotypes In 1839 the Academy of Science in Paris, France made an announcement that would change our view on the world and ourselves forever. An artist named Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre and a amateur french scientist had developed a process by which a permanent image could be printed on a silver plated sheet of copper and the process could be duplicated and used commercially. France decided to give this gift to the world and thus the first Daguerreotype was born. Although daguerreotypes in truth were not the first photo ever taken but because of his development of the commercial process Mr. Daguerre is usually credited