William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné

Project Description:

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) was the Wiltshire inventor of photography on paper, specifically the negative/positive process that defined the central core of photography right down to the digital age. Each of his negatives and prints was made by hand on ordinary writing or drawing paper and thus each is both a photographic image and an artifact that records the technological progress of early photography. About 25,000 original Talbot negatives and prints are known to survive worldwide. Prof Schaaf started a Catalogue Raisonné of the photographs by Talbot and his circle more than three decades ago. This project is to convert these private databases into a freely available research resource that will encourage not only the study of Talbot's photography but also the people, places and ideas preserved within his photographs. Initial publication should begin late in 2015 with the resource building continuously. Feedback and contributions from readers will be heavily encouraged.