An image from Paul Elter’s Silver Tongued: Portraits from a 19th-Century Camera, reviewed in this week’s issue in The Age of Silver.

Mr. Elter’s hauntingly beautiful images are created using an 1850s camera, whose collodion “wetplate” method of exposure involves applying a variety of chemicals to a glass plate, including the silver nitrate that gives the volume its name, and patiently waiting for the right moment to begin an exposure that can last for many minutes. See Chris Fanning’s review for more.