Invention

The invention of photography marks a technological breakthrough, a scientific discovery, and the ongoing competition between England and France, who were both vying for social and economic supremacy within Europe.

(Joseph Nicephore, Niepce, First Photograph, 1827)

While 1839 marks the official year of the invention of photography, the "first" photograph was actually created in 1827 by a man named Joseph Nicephore Niepce.  Niepce called his "photographic" process heliography (from the Greek word "helios," meaning sun).  Initially, Niepce experimented with bitumen of Judea (or asphalt) and attempted to replicate two-dimensional  forms.  Once he achieved a modicum of success, he put the bitumen coated plate in the back of a camera obscura.  When exposed to light, the asphalt hardened, thereby making it less soluble in acid and allowing Niepce to etch his image on to a pewter surface.  Although heliography is similar to modern day printmaking processes, such as lithography or intaglio, it still marks the first time that a mechanical representation of the "real" world was printed on to a two-dimensional surface.  Niepce's first photograph was an eight hour exposure that pictured the view outside his studio window.  While this "photograph" might look unremarkable today, heliography led directly to the invention of the Daguerreotype and modern day photography.

In 1829, Niepce formed a partnership with a successful "diorama" artist and businessman named Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre.  Together Daguerre and Niepce refined the heliographic process.  In 1833, Niepce suddenly dies, thereby leaving Daguerre alone (with some help from Niepce's son) to further develop the process.  Between 1833 (the death of Niepce) and 1839 (photography's official invention date), Daguerre experimented with heating silver plated coper plates with iodine and inserting them into the back of the camera obscura.  Once exposed, the plates were treated (or developed) in mercury fumes and fixed with table salt.  The result was a photograph-- or Daguerreotype, a small direct positive.

(Daguerre and Arago presenting the Daguerreotype to the French Academy of Sciences, Illustration)

On January 7th, 1839, Daguerre teamed up with a savvy French scientist named Arago to present Dauguerres process to the French Academy of Sciences.  In the speech that Arago gave to the academy, he announced that the Daguerreotype was a "gift to humanity" and a "force for social progress" and that the French government should pay Daguerre a hefty stipend as reward for his invention.  While people in France were free to experiment with the Daguerreotype process, the English were made to purchase licenses.  

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Meanwhile in England...

(Portrait of William Henry Fox Talbot, Antoanine Claudet, 1844)

William Henry Fox Talbot, a man of means and leisure, grew interested in the camera obscura.  Although he wanted to be talented artist, he knew that he lacked skills.  Instead, he concentrated his efforts on figuring out how to permanently fix the images projected on to the back of the camera obscura.  Drawing on the discovery made by Johann Heinrich Schultz (almost a century before), Talbot began experimenting with silver nitrate.  In 1835, Talbot exposed the first photographic negative on a sheet of of salted paper that was soaked in a silver nitrate solution.  By January 25th, 1839 (a little more than two weeks after Daguerre announced the Daguerreotype), Talbot traveled to the Royal Academy of Sciences in England and introduced his own photographic process, which he initially named the Talbotype but later changed to the "Calotype."

(Latticed Window - negative, William Henry Fox Talbot, 1835, Calotype)

In February, 1839, William Henry Fox Talbot visited a leading scientist by the name of Sir John Herschel.  Herschel had discovered an effective fixing agent, hyposulphite of soda (sodium thiosulphite), and gave Talbot permission to use the agent in conjunction with his invention.  In addition, Herschel also coined the term "photography" to describe Talbot's "photographic drawing" process and the terms "negative" and "positive" to replace Talbot's "reversed copy" and "re-reversed copy."

While Daguerre's process produced a highly detailed, one of a kind, positive image on a metal plate, Talbot's process created hazy, reproducible, paper negatives.

Pre-History Notes

In 1839, photography was officially introduced to the world.  Although people were able to see ghostly photographic shadows before the 19th century, they were unable to permanently fix these images on to a solid surface.  By the mid 19th century, society was ready for realistic representations of the world.  The invention of photography revolutionized daily life.  Today, doctors, athletes, scientists, investigators, artists, anthropologists, advertisers, and journalists (to name only a few) rely on the medium for information and publicity.  

The illustration above pictures a camera obscura, which literally means in Latin, "dark chamber."  Originally, the camera was a light-tight, four-walled room with a small, circular opening (or aperture).  An upside-down image of the world in front of the hole was cast on to the far wall.  The earliest known written evidence of such images dates from 350 BCE when Aristotle made observations on an eclipse.

In 1558, Giovanni Battista della Porta (pictured above) published Natural Magic.  In his book, he argued that the camera obscura would become useful to draftsmen and artists who sought realistic depictions of perspective space.

(Replica of Fox Talbot's Camera Obscura)

In 1676, Johann Christoph Sturm incorporated a 45 degree angle mirror into the camera design.  The mirror corrected image reversal and reflected the image on to a horizontal glass surface.

In the late 1600s, an adjustable aperture was added to the camera obscura to control image sharpness and brightness.  The lens was fitted in an adjustable tube for focus control.

In the early 18th century, Johann Heinrich Schultz discovered that certain silver salts, most notable silver chloride and silver nitrate, darkened in the presence of light.  

Friedrich Risner described the first transportable camera obscura as a light, wooden "hut" that could be moved to suite desired scenes.  The camera obscura evolved rapidly from moveable rooms to portable tents.  By the end of the 18th century, small, hand-held camera obscuras became popular.

In 1807, William Hyde Wollaston introduced the camera lucida (pictured above), an optical device designed specifically for renderers who wanted to create true-to-life drawings.  The camera lucida consisted of an extendable telescopic tube in three pieces, with a 45 degree prism and sighting lens.  The camera lucida quickly gained popularity.

Click here to learn more about the camera lucida.

In the 1790s, Thomas Wedgwood experimented with silver chloride and the camera obscura.  Initially, his experiments grew out of his desire to make faithful art reproductions.  He successfully created faint, weak images, but they could only be viewed for short intervals in dimly lit rooms.  Otherwise, they would turn to black.  Although Wedgwood came close to discovering modern-day photography he was unabvle to resolve the issue of permanence.

Welcome

Old Photographic Studio

Welcome to the Photo History Review.  Here you will find lecture notes, study guides, homework posts, and exhibition announcements.  The links to the left take you to New York City exhibition venues that showcase photography.  You will find that most exhibition links feature photographers whose works we will discuss throughout the course of the semester.  I encourage you all to take advantage of RCC's proximity to New York City.  New York City galleries are free and, with your RCC ID, you should be able to get into most museums at a reduced rate.  Go see some art!