View images of John Adams Whipple's salted paper prints.

John Adams Whipple operated a studio in Boston where he was known for the exceptional quality of his daguerreotypes as well as his advances with glass plate negatives and paper prints. Along with his partner James Wallace Black, Whipple served as the first official class photographer for Harvard from 1852 to 1859. The Harvard University Archives holds a large collection of class albums containing portraits of seniors and faculty as well as campus views by Whipple and Black. Whipple experimented with a variety of negative supports including albumen coated glass plates that produced images with greater sharpness. Whipple referred to these negatives and resulting prints as “crystalotypes,” alluding to the improved clarity of the image.