Some of Talbot’s ‘mousetraps’ by Catherine Weed-Ward (detail from her 1905 negative)
Toronto. Past president, author, and sports photographer Les Jones sent me a note the other day on an interesting article about Henry’s lost cameras.
In January of 1839, Two unique means to capture images created by sunlight were announced. One, by Daguerre of France showed how a silver-coated copper plate could be used to create a permanent image called a daguerreotype.
The astonishing news caused an urgent reaction in one Englishman who already had a similar ‘permanent’ process for his personal use. Henry Fox Talbot immediately had his process announced from England. His process created a ‘negative’ image that could be used to ‘print’ any number of positive prints.
The one-off daguerreotype was initially the chosen process and rapidly spread around the civilized world. After all, it was free (except in the UK). Ultimately with numerous improvements, Talbot’s process took over and the negative/positive technique became the world-wide standard for glass plates and film.
Recently a search was initiated in the UK to track down Talbot’s cameras or ‘mousetraps’ as some called them. Larry Schaaf introduces an article titled, “The Hunt for Talbot’s Cameras” by guest writer Roger Watson. The article describes Talbot’s cameras complete with photographs of a few of these hand made instruments as well as offering an opinion about why so few exist today.
At the right under ‘PHSC EVENTS’ are the confirmed events so far for this year. You may not find a Talbot ‘mousetrap’ but there will be lots of goodies to add to you user gear or collection!
