Carleton Watkins Valparaíso, 1849
chemistry, could magically transform the three dimensions of life into a new two dimensional reality, an experience that tempted Carleton to walk the same path as his new friend, Robert Vance.
If Carleton began his new job at Vance y Cia. on a day in May or June, the sun in the southern hemisphere would have been low in the sky and conditions for making daguerreian exposures were reduced to the hours between ten thirty a.m. and three thirty p.m. Frequent overcast days limited the sunlight required for photography even more. With average daytime temperatures in the forties for the months of June through September, conditions in the studio were at first not conducive to photography. Moreover, the maritime traffic by vessels carrying fortune hunters from the U. S. East Coast, who were the main clients of Vance y Cia., was close to a standstill during the South American winter, so traffic from tourists to the daguerreian studio was reduced to a trickle—all the better, we believe, for Carleton to get his bearings gradually as a novice camera operator.
Making a photograph in 1849 was not simply a matter of "coating the daguerreotype plate and making the exposure" as Carleton modestly condensed the procedure in dialogue with his biographer half a century after his first residency in Valparaíso ended.[11] Once he had received some minimal instruction from Vance, we believe Carleton began the process of mastering the delicate procedures through trial-and-error, possibly with reference to an instructional manual found in the studio.[12] However, there were also human resources nearby that Carleton could rely on for guidance. The Englishman,William Helsby, operated a daguerreian portrait studio next door to Vance y Cia. with the address of calle de la no. 111 [Fig. 3].[13] In Vance’s absence Carleton could have received advice in daguerreian techniques from Helsby, who arrived in Valparaíso in 1846, a year ahead of Vance.
The adjoining buildings that housed Vance y Cia. and the Helsby Retratista studio were located near the public wharf ("mole") in the custom house district. The nearby clock tower was a local landmark and the English-language library maintained in the Merchants Exchange building
[11] Carleton returned to Valparaíso in the early South American spring of 1852.
[12] For example, N. P. Lerebours, A Treatise on Photography Containing the Latest Discoveries and Improvements Apertaining to the Daguerreotype, Translated by J. Egerton, London, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1842.
[13] Alexander, p. 29; The street numbering system was later changed and the location is presently listed as No. 111.