Vol. VIII, Jan-Dec. 1846. [4], 338, cxliii-cxliv pp. With an original mounted Talbotype (i.e. calotype) by William Henry Fox Talbot with his patent label mounted on the verso; 10 steel-engraved plates; a color lithographed plate for “Parquetage” family crest and a chromolithograph of a hunting scene; 2 black & white lithographs, 1 brown colored lithograph; 2 wood engraved plates (1 of which is folding); 1 folding plate with three geometric figures; numerous wood engravings in the text. 11½x9¼, decorated green cloth, front cover stamped in gilt, rear cover blind-stamped, lettered in gilt.
Noteworthy for the early appearance of a photographic print in a periodical, a Talbotype, or "sun picture," commonly known as a calotype. William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), began experimenting with capturing images on light-sensitive paper around 1834, and patented the calotype, also called a Talbotype, in 1840. It was the first instance of a photograph secured on paper and produced with paper negatives, which allowed for multiple copies of the same image to be made, as opposed to the daguerreotype invented by L.J.M. Daguerre in 1839. In 1845 Talbot published "The Pencil of Nature," the first book to be illustrated with photographs, and the appearance of a Talbotype in “The Art-Union” is likely in response to the reaction to the book. The calotype view is titled “The Martyr’s Monument, Oxford. From Nature” and shows the ancient spires in the foreground, a building off to one side, and trees in the background. It has normal fading. The accompanying text, nearly two pages, describes the process and Talbot's development of it.
Condition:
Spine ends and corners slightly bumped, light soiling; lacks front free endpaper, 1 steel-engraved plate detached, mild foxing throughout, front hinge a bit weak after title page; Talbotype and most of the other plate images clean and unmarked, else very good.