[Album of Early X-Rays]
In December 1895, the German mechanical engineer Wilhelm Röntgen announced his discovery of the X-ray, a mysterious new type of radiation capable of revealing the hidden structure of living things. Within months, scientists around the world began to experiment with X-ray technology, attracting popular interest through public exhibitions and lectures. This album by S. Hunt, a bootmaker and engineer based in Weymouth, England, includes X-ray photographs of various objects, including a scissors, nails and screws, and hands bedecked with rings, as well as broken bones and needles embedded within various body parts. To some of the images, Hunt added a decorative “signature” crafted from metal wire, situating the images somewhere between science and art.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Album of Early X-Rays]
- Artist: S. Hunt (British)
- Date: ca. 1898
- Medium: Gelatin silver prints
- Dimensions: Overall: 9 3/4 × 10 3/8 × 13/16 in. (24.7 × 26.4 × 2 cm)
- Classifications: Photographs, Albums
- Credit Line: The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.330
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Jean Piénoz
1930–1960
Bill Brandt
April 1949
David Johnson
ca. 1855
Roger Fenton
1858
Julia Margaret Cameron
1867
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.