[Wild Fennel]

William Henry Fox Talbot British

Not on view

Talbot's earliest pictures "impressed by the agency of light alone," as he described them, were photographic traces of botanical specimens laid on sheets of chemically sensitized paper and set in the sun. The paper darkened wherever it was struck by light but remained white wherever the sun's rays were blocked. As a serious botanist, Talbot envisioned the accurate recording and easy sharing of natural specimens to be one of the important functions of his invention.

[Wild Fennel], William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock), Salted paper print

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.