The Open Door

1840s

Photomechanics: the road to photogravure

In the 1840s Talbot turned to the photomechanical reproduction of pictures; this work led to photoglyphic engraving, the precursor of photogravure. Rendering a photograph in printer’s ink made editions cheaper and avoided the fading of early silver prints.

1842

Birth of his son Charles Henry

Charles Henry Talbot was born into the Talbot family; with his birth the nursemaid Eliza Frayland joined the household, later captured in the family calotype of 1844.

1842

Son born: Charles Henry Talbot

1842

The Rumford Medal for his photographic discoveries

The Royal Society awarded Talbot the Rumford Medal for his photographic discoveries.

1842 · 获奖

Rumford Medal

1844–1846

“The Pencil of Nature”, the first photobook, appears

Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans issued the book in separate parts: 24 prints, each pasted in by hand and accompanied by a short text. Talbot is regarded as the author of the first photographic book; scholars see in it the design of a new canon built on biblical rhetoric.