Talbot in Edinburgh: No. 1 – December 1839

27 Jan 2017: I trust that you hoisted a wee dram this Wednesday to accompany your haggis at the Burn’s Night Supper. Wednesday was also the anniversary of Henry Talbot’s first public display of photographs on 25 January 1839. Struggling through the poor weather that summer and even more pathetic reception of the formal scientific community in Britain, …

Henry onstage, Chartists in the streets & Daguerre in the wings: Birmingham, August 1839

20 Jan 2017: We have already explored Henry Talbot’s first public exhibition of his photographs, displayed for one day on 25 January 1839 at the Royal Institution in London. It was a hastily prepared show in response to the surprise announcement by Daguerre. In the dark January weather and under pressure of time, Talbot had no choice but …

Henry in Paris, No. 1

13 Jan 2017: Earlier this week, Paul-Louis Roubert met up with me to travel to a remote storage facility just outside Paris. Paul-Louis is the President of the Société française de photographie and a member of our Advisory Board. I have long been convinced that there are more original Talbot photographs surviving in France than is generally known …

Holiday Treat – A Bridge in Winter

6 Jan 2017: Guest post by Brian Liddy A photograph represents a moment in time, frozen. For some of Talbot’s photographs we know exactly when he took them, sometimes right down to the day. For others, our guesswork is guided by clues such as the photographic process and whatever has been recorded within the image. Often the season …