dry plate

noun

1. a glass photographic plate coated with a sensitive emulsion of silver bromide and silver iodide in gelatin.
2. Metallurgy. tin plate having patches of dull finish.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dry plate¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

“You’ll have a new barn in no time,” I said, wiping an already dry plate with a towel.

From Literature

Replacing the expensive and deadly daguerreotype process which debuted in the 183os, wet plate photography peaked in the 1870s and began to wane in roughly 1884 when the dry plate process came out.

From Washington Times

In 1881, at age 17, Louis discovered a way to capture images on dry plates with gelatin silver bromide.

From New York Times

Oxymel produced a dry plate that could be kept for days.

From New York Times

So a supersensitive dry plate will often record many thousand stars in a region where the naked eye can see but one.

From Project Gutenberg