Photography - the Ur text
A facsimile by scanner of the very first time the word "Photography" was written down by the very first man to say it: Sir John F. W. Herschel.
The occasion was at a meeting of the Royal Society at Somerset House in London on Thursday 14 March, 1839. Meetings of the Royal Society were great social occasions where the glitterati of the day could meet famous figures of science and industry. The best part was a lavish banquet set for approximately 8.30 pm but before that lectures and presentations were on the agenda. The last presentation before the feast was "Note on the use of Photography or the application of the Chemical rays of light to the purpose of pictorial representation." It is not known how many of the attendees realised that when they heard "Photography" it was for the first time.
The handwriting is bad, lecture notes often are, but the page is a singular curiousity that every photograph should see.
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