The William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné

Master record for Schaaf no. 773

Diminished copy of a lithographic print

Attributed to: William Henry Fox Talbot

Alternate titles

After Louis Léopold Boilly (1761-1845), "Réunion de trente-cinq têtes diverses", c. 1820s
Variant of "The Pencil of Nature", Plate XI

The lithograph Talbot photographed is by Godefroy Engelmann (1788-1839), after the original work by Louis Léopold Boilly (1761-1845), "Réunion de trente-cinq têtes diverses", c. 1820s. An original lithograph is held at Yale University Art Gallery.

As the negative has not been cropped in to the image before printing, Talbot has allowed us to see how the artwork or lithograph has been secured before it was photographed. A sheet of decorative patterned wallpaper with a Rococo design has been used to protect the lithograph from the board it is fastened to. Strips of wood are used to weigh down or secure the side edges of the lithograph, while pins secure the top and bottom edge. The weights and the bottom pin cast shadows in the sunshine as the photograph was taken outdoors.