Intimate Collectors, No. 1 – Charles Babbage

28 Oct 2016: A tip of the hat to those collectors who over the decades have appreciated and helped to preserve a great number of the Talbots that we enjoy today. This is the first of an occasional series on an inner circle that perhaps you will indulge me in styling them ‘Intimate Collectors’ – those contemporaries of …

A delightful offering from Estonia

21 Oct 2016: It was a year ago this week that I had a chance to visit the University of Tartu in Estonia. During my too-brief visit I was ably assisted by their energetic librarian, Mr Sulo Lembinen. Sadly I did not have the opportunity to meet Professor Tullio Ilomets, but it was through his 1969 journal article …

The Clamour for Reform (or, the more things change, the more they stay the same)

14 Oct 2016: Guest post by Brian Liddy While no secret, perhaps it is not so well known that Henry Talbot was a Member of the First Reform Parliament at the very same time that he was creating the art of photography. In December 1832 Talbot was elected to Westminster as a Whig MP. Occurring just ten days …

The 183rd Anniversary of Tracings of Light

7 Oct 2016: On Monday of this week – the 5th of October in 1833 – the art of photography was conceived. It was an idea born out of frustration. The precocious and highly accomplished Henry Talbot had mastered nearly everything that had crossed his path in life: all sorts of languages, scientific and mathematical subjects, political skills …