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From George Eastman House : Notes On Photographs

Beeswax was mixed with solvents and essential oils to make encaustic pastes applied to photographic prints. Th e most common of these was the combination of beeswax and oil of lavender. Prints were waxed as early as the 1840s and the practice continued throughout the 19th century. Waxing prints improved the depth of tone particularly in the shadow areas and created a barrier from airborne contamination, one of the major causes of fading. Wax was also applied as a lubricant prior to burnishing prints.

Wax was also applied to calotype negatives. Waxing negatives made the paper translucent to allow better transmission of light for printing. The wax paper process introduced by Gustave le Gray called for waxing paper prior to the iodizing step. See Wax Paper Process.^[1]

1. ↑ Osterman, Mark. 2007. Wax. In The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography: Digital Imaging, Theory and Applications, History, and Science, ed. Michael R. Peres, 121, Focal Press.