The First Photo
A personal mission to see where and how it happened.
Rediscovered in 1952 by photo historians Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, the “First Photograph” was first depicted in this well-known reproduction that was retouched by Helmut Gernsheim prior to its international release. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce’s “View from the Window at Le Gras.” 1826 or 1827. Gernsheim Collection, Harry Ransom Center / The University of Texas at Austin.
(It’s been exactly 50 years – 1963 – since Swiss photo historian Helmut Gernsheim donated the world’s earliest permanent photograph* to the University of Texas for public display. This post, the events of which took place over the past few years, honors this anniversary.)
There’s nothing quite like seeing history in front of your eyes. Physically being at a location or in front of an artifact from long ago that represents a continuous thread to something important today.
Like what I felt at Jamestown, Virginia, when I stood on the northern bank at a twist in the James River, closed my eyes, smelled the brackish water, and transported myself back to 1607 when a small band of native inhabitants watched in awe as the first permanent English settlers arrived in the New World in their tall-masted ships.
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