In wet-plate photography, the silver wires on which the plate rests are fixed in the carrier, as shown in the accompanying illustration. This special device is used because the drippings from the wet plate exercise a destructive influence on the woodwork of the slide, but an ordinary slide may be used if blotting paper is placed along the bottom to absorb the drippings; or the slide may be coated with shellac, asphaltum, or paraffin wax.

Wire Rests in Wet-plate Photography.