[Bookcase at Lacock Abbey]

William Henry Fox Talbot British

Not on view

By taking a photogenic drawing negative made in the camera (here, trimmed irregularly) and placing it on top of a second piece of sensitized paper, as he had done earlier with plant specimens, Talbot could reverse the tones of his picture a second time to produce a positive print. The early results, particularly when photographing in interior light, were soft and ephemeral, as if the rows of books, floating vases, and handless clock were apparitions rather than solid objects.

[Bookcase at Lacock Abbey], William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock), Salted paper print from paper negative

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