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Print from the first X-ray negative of the human hand

Photograph
1896 (made)
Artist/Maker
Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton (maker)

Albumen print from the first X-ray negative of the human hand. At the bottom of the print it reads 'Print from the first X-ray negative of the human hand made in England on January 13th 1896 by A.A Campbell Swinton , and shown by him at the camera club on January 16th 1896. Exposure: 20 minutes through an aluminium sheet. 0075 inch thick'

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read Cameraless photography Cameraless techniques have been exploited and reinterpreted by successive generations of image makers and continue to be used by contemporary artists today. While related to the conventional practices of photography, cameraless images offer an alternative, experimental, radical and often r...

Object details

Category
The Royal Photographic Society
Object type
Photograph
TitlePrint from the first X-ray negative of the human hand (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Photographic Paper
Albumen Process
Photography
Brief description
Albumen print from the first X-ray negative of the Human Hand by A.A Campbell Swinton, 1896
Physical description
Albumen print from the first X-ray negative of the human hand. At the bottom of the print it reads 'Print from the first X-ray negative of the human hand made in England on January 13th 1896 by A.A Campbell Swinton , and shown by him at the camera club on January 16th 1896. Exposure: 20 minutes through an aluminium sheet. 0075 inch thick'
Dimensions
  • Height: 30.5cm
  • Width: 24cm
Gallery label
Cameraless Photography

Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton (1863–1930)
X-ray Negative of the Human Hand
13th January 1896
Printing our paper print
30.5 x 24 cm
Museum no. RPS. 1239-2018

The first X-ray images were made in Germany by Wilhelm Röntgen in late 1895 and immediately caused a sensation. Electrical engineer Campbell-Swinton produced his own in England just weeks later. He was among the first to test the new discovery for medical applications, opening the first radiographic laboratory in Britain in 1896. His experiments in imaging continued, publishing in 1908 an explanation of ‘Distant Electric Vision’ – what we now know as television.

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.
Collection
Department of Photography
Accession number
RPS.1239-2018

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Record createdFebruary 23, 2018
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1433560/print-from-the-first-x-photograph-alan-archibald-campbell/
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