Image: Hillotypie

Description: Levi Hill of Westkill, NY, claimed for the first time to have invented a way to produce naturally colored daguerreotypes, or Hillotypes, as they became known. When Hill refused to release the details of his process until a patent was filed, the profession denounced him as a fraud. In 156 years, no definitive evidence has been presented to suggest that Hill was or was not an imposter, until now. Using state-of-the-art technology, the 62 Hillotypes acquired by the Smithsonian in 1933 from Hill's son-in-law, John Boggs Garrison, finally gave up their secrets. Examination of a number of the Hillotypes by GCI scientists and curators from the Smithsonian�s photography collection have confirmed that Hill was indeed a genius - he did discover a method to create several natural colors in his photographs.
Title: Hillotypie
Credit: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0eb7cY8e8rfxR
Author: Levi Hill
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No