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The Half Moon

ca. 1864
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
An early innovator of photographic printing, Talbot hoped to make the medium more viable for mass publication by taking engravings directly from photographs. De La Rue corresponded with him about the possibility of reproducing lunar views in this manner. Talbot’s engraving after De La Rue’s photograph may have been a preliminary publication proof. Although likely not completed, their project demonstrates how technological advances in astronomy and photography propelled one another.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Half Moon
  • Artist: William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock)
  • Artist: Warren de la Rue (British, Guernsey Island 1815–1889 London)
  • Date: ca. 1864
  • Medium: Photoglyphic engraving
  • Dimensions: Plate: 5 × 4 in. (12.7 × 10.1 cm)
    Sheet: 5 11/16 × 4 5/16 in. (14.5 × 11 cm)
  • Classification: Engravings
  • Credit Line: Hans P. Kraus Jr. Inc., New York
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs