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How did Frederick Scott Archer’s wet collodion process change photography in 1851?

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Alfred Stieglitz: Child with Striped Dress (Younger Raab Child) — History of photography *Child with Striped Dress (Younger Raab Child)*, autochrome photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1907; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Introduced by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, the wet collodion process revolutionized photography by combining the high-quality detail of the daguerreotype with the ability to produce multiple paper prints from a single glass negative.123

This method was approximately 20 times faster than previous techniques and was notably free from patent restrictions, leading to its rapid and universal adoption. Because the collodion film became waterproof once dry, photographers were required to sensitize, expose, and develop the glass plates while still moist, necessitating the use of portable darkroom tents for outdoor work.312

Beyond its primary use in portraiture, the process enabled the creation of ambrotypes and tintypes, which made photography more accessible and affordable. Furthermore, it became a foundational technique in photoengraving, allowing for the stripping and assembly of images for plate making, a practice that remained standard in the industry until the 1930s.134