Christopher Brenton West was trained in and practiced silversmithing in the late 1970s. However, recession and the slump in bullion prices in the early 1980s caused people to view precious metal as less of an investment. (It had been valued as a safe investment for centuries). This change led him away from the craft, to make a living in other artistic fields. Bullion prices have recently rebounded and now have exceeded the values of those earlier days; people are turning back to traditional gold and silver as a safer financial bet than property or the current turbulence of stocks and shares.

 

Now in the 21st Century he has formalized his life long hobby, gaining a first class honours degree in photography in the West Country of England. Part of that study was to investigate alternative processes. This led to experimentation in the art of Daguerreotypes. It appears that Christopher Brenton West is the only practicing Daguerreotypist in Great Britain.

 

The unique and inimitable attribute of these images is that they are produced on 999/1000 pure silver sheets. These are hallmarked at the London Assay Office and carry his unique makers' mark CBW Illustrated on the homepage. There is an intrinsic value before the silver iodide image even appears.

 

The process involves sensitizing pure silver or silver-plated copper plates with elemental iodine. The images are exposed in a modern view camera (very similar to Victorian cameras but made with modern materials). The use of bromine, mercury and gold chloride are sometimes also employed in variations to the process. The work is painstaking to perfect. Each time he makes an image something new occurs. Factors such as temperature, humidity and available light all have a bearing on the outcome. Total control is almost inpossible to achieve. After exposure during development the picture appears on the very highly polished silver, it has an almost three dimensional quality.

 

As with the 19th century Daguerreotypist, the images are displayed in small boxes. The boxes are constructed of ultra-modern carbon fibre weave which envelops the silver image with an up-to-the-minute protective cocoon. The reasons for displaying in a box as opposed to an ordinary frame are twofold:to protect the image and to make a dark reflection (the lid) to facilitate viewing. The bright polished silver areas form the blacks traveling through the tonal range to white where the silver iodide is at its densest. If there is a bright background the image becomes very faint and the overall effect is mirror like.

 

Below is some of the equipment used.The images show the silver-plated copper plates, as opposed to the pure silver plates now employed.