Mousetrap camera
Camera
c. 1835 (made)
c. 1835 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Talbot was the British inventor of photography. In 1834 he discovered how to make and fix images through the action of light and chemistry on paper. These ‘negatives’ could be used to make multiple prints. This revolutionised image making.
Talbot excelled in many fields, including mathematics, optics, botany and chemistry. However, it was his inability to master drawing outdoors that prompted him to experiment with capturing images inside a camera. He published his photographic discoveries and ideas, illustrated with original photographs, in his book The Pencil of Nature. Talbot patented his negative photographic process, which he called the ‘calotype’, in 1841. Later, he pioneered photographic engraving – printing photographs in ink. His processes became the basis of virtually all subsequent photography.
Talbot excelled in many fields, including mathematics, optics, botany and chemistry. However, it was his inability to master drawing outdoors that prompted him to experiment with capturing images inside a camera. He published his photographic discoveries and ideas, illustrated with original photographs, in his book The Pencil of Nature. Talbot patented his negative photographic process, which he called the ‘calotype’, in 1841. Later, he pioneered photographic engraving – printing photographs in ink. His processes became the basis of virtually all subsequent photography.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | Mousetrap camera (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Wooden box with optical glass lens |
| Brief description | "Mousetrap" camera back, wooden slide with indent, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot, c. 1835 |
| Physical description | Wooden mousetrap camera with lens made from an eyepiece from a telescope or microscope, and separable sliding back panel. This object has two parts. The lens is slightly loose in the box. Small holes in the wood at the edges nearest the lens end, on both sides of the box. Sliding back panel is slightly moulded, with curved indentation carved in (to help remove the panel by sliding it). On the interior side of panel, four corners have additional material that has accrued over the years - patches of glue and paper, as this interior would have been where the paper for the negative was attached. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | Photography Centre 2018-20:
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–77)
Talbot was the British inventor of photography. In 1834 he discovered how to make and fix images through the action of light and chemistry on paper. These ‘negatives’ could be used to make multiple prints. This revolutionised image making.
Talbot excelled in many fields, including mathematics, optics, botany and chemistry. However, it was his inability to master drawing outdoors that prompted him to experiment with capturing images inside a camera. He published his photographic discoveries and ideas, illustrated with original photographs, in his book The Pencil of Nature. Talbot patented his negative photographic process, which he called the ‘calotype’, in 1841. Later, he pioneered photographic engraving – printing photographs in ink. His processes became the basis of virtually all subsequent photography.
You can see how calotypes are made in the ‘Dark Tent’ film room in Room 99.
The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund |
| Credit line | The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund. |
| Summary | Talbot was the British inventor of photography. In 1834 he discovered how to make and fix images through the action of light and chemistry on paper. These ‘negatives’ could be used to make multiple prints. This revolutionised image making. Talbot excelled in many fields, including mathematics, optics, botany and chemistry. However, it was his inability to master drawing outdoors that prompted him to experiment with capturing images inside a camera. He published his photographic discoveries and ideas, illustrated with original photographs, in his book The Pencil of Nature. Talbot patented his negative photographic process, which he called the ‘calotype’, in 1841. Later, he pioneered photographic engraving – printing photographs in ink. His processes became the basis of virtually all subsequent photography. |
| Associated object | PROV.7923-2017 (RPS Group record) |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | RPS.336:1-2017 |
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| Record created | April 21, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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