William Henry Fox Talbot (February 11, 1800 –
September 17, 1877) was the inventor of the negative/positive
photographic process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also a noted
photographer who made major contributions to the development of photography as an
artistic medium. His work in the 1850s, on photo-mechanical reproduction led to the creation of the photoglyphic engraving
process, the precursor to photogravure. He is, however, also remembered as the holder of a patent
which, some say, affected the early development of commercial photography in England. Talbot also made some important
early photographs of Oxford,
Paris and York - see "Nathaniel Whittock's bird's-eye view of the City of York in the
1850's" by Hugh Murray.
Early life
Talbot was the only child of William Davenport Talbot, of Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, and of Lady Elisabeth Fox Strangways, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester. Talbot was educated at Rottingdean, Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was
awarded the Porson prize in Classics in 1820, and graduated as twelfth wrangler in 1821. From 1822 to 1872 he frequently communicated papers to the Royal Society, many of them on mathematical subjects. At an early period he had begun his optical
researches, which were to have such important results in connection with photography. To the Edinburgh Journal of Science
in 1826 he contributed a paper on "Some Experiments on Colored Flame"; to the Quarterly Journal
of Science in 1827 a paper on "Monochromatic Light"; and to the Philosophical Magazine a
number of papers on chemical subjects, including one on "Chemical Changes of Colour."
Invention of calotype process
Talbot engaged in photographic experiments beginning in early 1834, well before 1839, when Louis Daguerre exhibited his pictures taken by the sun. After
Daguerre's discovery was announced (without details), Talbot showed his four-year old pictures at the Royal Institution on 25 January 1839. Within a fortnight, he freely communicated the technical details
of his photogenic drawing process to the Royal Society. Daguerre would not reveal the manipulatory details of his process
until August. In 1841 Talbot announced his discovery of the calotype, or talbotype, process.
This process reflected the work of many predecessors, including John Herschel. Talbot's
original contributions included the concept of a negative from which many
positive prints can be made (although the terms negative and positive were coined by Herschel), and the use of
gallic acid for developing the latent image. In
1842, for his photographic discoveries, which are detailed in his The Pencil of Nature (1844), he received the Rumford
Medal of the Royal Society.
Patenting controversy
"The Footman", taken in 1840
In February 1841, Talbot obtained a patent for the calotype
process. At first he was selling individual patent licenses for £20 each, but later he lowered the fee to £4 and waived the
payment for those who wished to use the process only as amateurs. Professional photographers, however, had to pay up to £300
annually. In a business climate where many patent holders were attacked for enforcing their rights, Talbot's behavior was widely
criticized, especially after 1851 when Frederick Scott Archer publicized the
collodion process he had invented. Talbot declared that anyone using Archer's process
would still be liable to get a license from Talbot for calotype (Archer himself never obtained a patent for collodion).
One reason Talbot patented the calotype was that he had spent many thousands of pounds (then a small fortune) on the
development of the calotype process over several years. It is also significant that, although the daguerreotype process was
supposed to be free to the world, Daguerre secured an English patent on his own process making it illegal for people in England
to practice his process without a license. The purpose behind this patenting in England is not clear, but perhaps it was to stop
Talbot from claiming priority or developing his system against Daguerre. Talbot's negative/positive process eventually succeeded
as the basis for almost all 19th and 20th century photography. The daguerreotype, although stunningly beautiful, was rarely used
by photographers after 1860, and had died as a commercial process by 1865.
A picture by Talbot made in 1853.
The calotype was a refinement of his earlier photogenic drawing process in the use of a developing agent (gallic acid and
silver nitrate) to bring out a latent negative image on the exposed paper. The negative meant that the print could be reproduced
as many times as was required. The daguerreotype was a direct positive process and not
reproducible, just as a Polaroid colour photograph where a copy has to be made. On the other hand, the calotype, despite waxing
of the negative paper to make the image clearer, still was not pin sharp like the metallic daguerreotype as the paper fibres
degraded the image produced.
The problem was resolved in 1851 (the year of Daguerre's death) when the wet collodion process enabled glass to be used as a
support, the lack of detail often found in calotype negatives was removed and pin sharp images, similar in detail to the
daguerreotype was created. The wet collodion negative not only brought about the end of the calotype in commercial use, but also
spelled the end of the daguerreotype as a common process for portraiture.
In August 1852, The Times published an open letter by
Lord Rosse, the President of the Royal Society, and Charles Lock Eastlake, the president of
the Royal Academy, who called on Talbot to relieve his patent pressure that was perceived
as stifling the development of photography. In his response, Talbot agreed to waive licensing fees for amateurs, but he continued
to pursue professional portrait photographers, having filed several lawsuits. The cost of the license for anyone wishing to make
portraits for sale was £100 for the first year and £150 each subsequent year.
In 1854 Talbot applied for an extension of the 14-year patent, to be expired in 1855. At that
time one of his lawsuits, against a photographer Martin Laroche, was heard by the court.
The Talbot v. Laroche case was the pivotal point of the story. Laroche's side
argued that the patent was invalid, as a similar process was invented earlier by Joseph
Reade, and that using the collodion process does not infringe the calotype patent anyway because of significant
differences between the two processes. In the verdict, the jury upheld the calotype patent but agreed that Laroche was not
infringing upon it by using the collodion process. Disappointed by the outcome, Talbot chose not to extend his patent.
Other activities
Talbot was active in politics, being a moderate Reformer who generally supported the Whig Ministers. He served as Member of Parliament for
Chippenham between 1832 and
1835 when he retired from Parliament. He also held the office of Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1840.
Whilst engaged in his scientific researches he devoted much time to archaeology. He published Hermes, or Classical and
Antiquarian Researches (1838-39), and Illustrations of the
Antiquity of the Book of Genesis (1839). With Sir Henry Rawlinson and Dr Edward Hincks he shares
the honour of having been one of the first decipherers of the cuneiform inscriptions of
Nineveh. He was also the author of English Etymologies (1846).
In 1843-44, he set up an establishment in Baker Street,
Reading, for the purpose of mass producing salted paper prints from his calotype
negatives. The Reading Establishment (as it was known) also produced prints from other calotypist’s negatives and even produced
portraits and copy prints at the studio. He died at Lacock Abbey.
References
External links
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