Daguerreotypes consist of silver particles located on a highly polished silver surface. Over time, this surface is prone to the formation of tarnish which can severely obscure photographic details. In this paper the use of two hyperspectral imaging systems for the purpose of improving the legibility of daguerreotype images is described. One imaging system was used for visible (420-720 nm) wavelengths and a second imaging system was used for near infrared (650-1100 nm) wavelengths. In this study it was demonstrated that single 10 nm band images at longer wavelengths (greater than 650 nm) are especially useful for revealing photographic details that have become obscured by tarnish. The visible and near infrared spectra that were acquired revealed that there were significant differences in the light absorption properties of tarnished and untarnished areas of a photograph. Furthermore, while the visible spectra showed only a gradual decrease in absorbance with increasing wavelength, the near infrared spectra revealed significant changes in absorbance between tarnished and non-tarnished areas. As a result of these spectral properties, the near infrared imaging camera was ideal for imaging through dirt or heavily tarnished surfaces of these historical photographs.