Abstract
Larry J. Schaaf, Out of the Shadows. Herschel, Talbot and the Invention of Photography . New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992. Pp. xii + 188, £26.50. ISBN 0-300-05705-9 In keeping with its subject, great care has been lavished on the aesthetic qualities of this volume. Not only are the printing and layout pleasing to the eye but over a hundred superbly reproduced figures are included, mostly calotypes and photogenic negatives by William Henry Fox Talbot and his contemporaries. Our familiarity with the incisive colours and clear contours of modem photography does not diminish our pleasure in these remarkable early photographs and our appreciation of the excitement and frustration of those who first saw them emerge ‘out of the shadows’. Apart from its obvious visual impact this book is also a serious contribution to the history of photography. While Schaaf engages the familiar story of Talbot’s innovations and the conflicting claims made by Louis Daguerre, his account is rich and historically nuanced, his narrative focusing on the relationship between two Fellows of the Royal Society, Talbot and John Herschel. If Herschel’s signal contributions to photography have sometimes been undervalued or distorted, Schaaf provides a welcome corrective.
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