Photograph (Experimental Photogenic Drawing, Phytotype), by Sir John Herschel, 1843 | |||||||||||
Inventory Number: | 81452 | ||||||||||
Object Type: | | ||||||||||
Persons: |
Sir John Frederick William Herschel (Photographer) | ||||||||||
Date Created: | 1843 | ||||||||||
Accession Number: | 1928-71 | ||||||||||
Brief Description: | Experimental photogenic drawing (phytotype) by Sir John Herschel, undated but 1843 (compare 31035), made during his exploration of alternative sensitising agents to silver salts, the most unusual of which were juices extracted from flower petals, producing these 'vegetable photographs'. Crimson poppy was the most successful, though it produced a pale or slate-blue image. This specimen is one of three unusually small examples. Subject: small engraving, unclear (the companions 31035 and 67508 are small engravings of girls) Technique: direct-positive contact copy Format: vertical (nearly square) Polarity: positive Orientation: laterally reversed Quality: image present but pale and unclear Colour: pale blue Chemistry: phytotype, dyed with crimson poppy Coating: none Inscription: chemical note Paper: unusually small Condition: good Purpose: an experiment with the photographic possibilities of light-sensitive dyes extracted from flower petals. For fuller descriptive and historical commentary see narratives. | ||||||||||
Primary Inscriptions: | 'Crimson Poppy Highga[cut away]' [?Highgate, the source of the poppies; in Herschel's hand]. | ||||||||||
Provenance: | Presented by Miss Herschel and Lady Lubbock in 1928. They were the two surviving and youngest children of Sir John Herschel (Francisca and Constance). | ||||||||||
Collection Group: | Herschel's Photographic Experiments | ||||||||||
Material(s): |
Paper | ||||||||||
Dimensions: |
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Narratives | |||||||||||
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