William Henry Fox Talbot

The Pencil of Nature (Annotated) William Henry Fox Talbot

Differentiated book- It has a historical context with research of the time-The Pencil of Nature by William Henry Fox Talbot. Talbot's 'picture book' is a manifesto for photography, a controversy, an advertisement, a commitment to posterity, a chronicle of the past and a vision of the future. The Pencil of Nature, published between June 1844 and April 1846, was the first commercially published book to be illustrated with photographs. As such, it is a milestone not only in the history of photography but in the way we view our world. Its importance to the history of photography has been compared in print. In fact, until recently, surviving full copies were thought to be rarer. Fortunately, that has not been shown to be the case. However, although the exact number of copies produced is not known with certainty, surviving records indicate that the potential number of complete examples is probably less than 50, three of which are now in our collection. Nature's pencil is more than just a "picture book". It is a manifesto for photography, a controversy, an advertisement, a commitment to posterity, a chronicle of the past and a vision of the future. Above all, it is a testament to the creativity, imagination, and vision of a remarkable man: its author and illustrator, William Henry Fox Talbot, the "father of photography."