The Art-Union and Photography, 1839-1854: The First Fifteen Years of Critical Engagement between Two Cultural Icons of Nineteenth-Century Britain Page: 42
This thesis is part of the collection entitled: UNT Theses and Dissertations and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
detail."26 Although Beard and Willats were both British, and so could be expected to receive
attention from The Art-Union, somewhat surprisingly neither Talbot nor the Talbotype were
discussed much in the journal at first.27 In fact, when improvements in the Talbotype process
were discussed in the May and June 1845 issues of the journal, the articles referred to work that
had been accomplished by Claudet-a Frenchman living in London who was one of the first
people in England to capture daguerreotypes there. It is understandable that The Art-Union
would continue to take a cautious approach to the commodification of photography during the
early years of its development. Many of the articles and notes on photography during this period
that were published in The Art-Union as well as the Athenaeum and the Literary Gazette reported
process developments and image exhibitions by individuals who were active on the Continent.
Even though British photographers such as Beard, Willats, and Talbot were active in creating
photographs and driving improvements in photographic process-much of this work comprised
significant elements of the larger field of early photography, including, but not limited to
Talbot's The Pencil of Nature, as will be seen-The Art-Union seems to have concluded that
Talbot and other British photographers had not yet been successful in exposing their work to a
wide-ranging section of the British art public.28
26 The Art-Union 6 (August 1844): 222.
27 This is a curious occurrence, since Hall and Talbot personally knew each other, as will be seen when Talbot
provides Hall with several thousand photographs to be incorporated into an issue of The Art-Union, although it is
unknown at what date they commenced their acquaintanceship. In fact, Hall wrote in his memoirs that he was well
connected to the British art world: "It is unnecessary for me to say that all the artists of the earlier half of the century
have been my personal acquaintances; I have known them all, and it seems to me that I might write something of
each that could not fail to interest a reader." See, Hall, Retrospect of a Long Life, 3, 422.
28 The Athenaeum and Literary Gazette did not provide the reader with a much greater amount of material
discussing photographic development by British photographers than The Art-Union during this period. But, it is
noteworthy that Talbot was much more present and active in the Literary Gazette than the other journals. One
potential reason for this, at least in comparison to The Art-Union, is that the Literary Gazette reported on the
sciences in much greater detail than would have been expected in the page of an art journal. Therefore,
photographic development and Talbot's experiments and activities in the field were accorded a reasonable amount
of attention in the Literary Gazette. Talbot also published letters in the Literary Gazette in which he argued for his
primacy in inventing photography, explained the calotype process, described his efforts toward improving the
photographic process for ease of use and quality of image, and argued for the mass use-value of photography:
42
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This thesis can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Thesis.
Boetcher, Derek Nicholas. The Art-Union and Photography, 1839-1854: The First Fifteen Years of Critical Engagement between Two Cultural Icons of Nineteenth-Century Britain, thesis, August 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc84178/m1/46/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .