The pencil of nature / by H. Fox Talbot | Collections | The Huntington

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The pencil of nature / by H. Fox Talbot

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Description: The plates are mounted salt print photographs using the calotype process by Talbot, printed at the Reading Establishment under the supervision of N. Henneman and, later, B. Cowderoy. The prints are mounted on stiff card, within a single rule inked border, and numbered in the lower right in ink or pencil. Plates 1 and 5 exist in 2 different images. Plate 1: in earlier copies, the building is cropped; in later copies, the building is fully visible. Plate 5: in earlier copies, the bust faces straight ahead and the print measures 12.5 x 13.5 cm.; in later copies, the bust faces to the left and the print measures 17.5 x 17 cm. Title printed in red and black within border of type ornaments. A 3-line slip, "Notice to the Reader", was inserted in most or all copies of pt. 2; a 5-line slip was inserted in pts. 3-6 and later issues of pt. 1. Each pt. was issued in cream paper covers, with decorated front cover lithographed in black and red; the pts. were numbered in ms. The front cover was retouched as pt. 5 was being issued: some copies of pt. 5, pt. 6, and later copies of pt. 1 have the cover in second state.
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