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From George Eastman House : Notes On Photographs

The common glue of the 19th century was made from poor quality animal gelatin and for this reason it was often called hide glue. It was purchased as either dry sheets, flaked, or ground up into small grains. To make glue it was first necessary to soak the dry product until it absorbed as much water as possible. Excess water was then poured off and the swollen gelatin placed in a double-boiler-type glue pot and placed on a stove. Fish gelatin, also known as isinglass, was also used to make glue. Gelatin glues were always applied hot using a brush. Mucilage glues were made with gum arabic, gum tragacanth, and dextrin. These glues were used cold.

Hot hide glues were used when assembling frames, image cases, cameras, and all photographic equipment made of wood throughout the 19th century. Both hot and cold glues were also used to mount photographs. It was discovered that glues discolor over time staining the image, making them a poor choice for application to the entire back of the print. Because of this, starch pastes were used for overall mounting. The superior strength of glues as compared to starch pastes accounts for their continued use when the adhesive was only to be applied on the corners (tipping) or the edges (perimeter mounting) of prints.^[1]

1. ↑ Osterman, Mark. 2007. Glue. In The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography: Digital Imaging, Theory and Applications, History, and Science, ed. Michael R. Peres, 83-84, Focal Press.