Statement Of Responsibility: By H. Fox Talbot, Esq., F.R.S., &c. &c. &c.
Citation/Reference: For description and census of known surviving copies, see: Schaaf, Larry J. "Third census of H. Fox Talbot's The pencil of nature," in History of photography, v. 36 (2012), pages 99-120; In Schaaf's Third census MFZ+ (Talbot) is no. 68
Additional Physical Form: Also available online via Nineteenth Century Collections Online.
Date/Sequential Designation: Issued in 6 parts, 1844-1846 (all covers dated 1844). Parts were issued 24 June 1844, 29 January 1845, 14/29 May 1845, 21 June 1845, 13/22 December 1845, and before 23 April 1846, respectively; see Schaaf.
Content: Copy in MFZ+ (Talbot): Part 1 only, containing 5 photographs.
Exhibitions: NYPL Exhibition ID TL 18.02.043 applies only to Cover (closed).

Physical Description

Photographic prints
Salted paper prints
Extent: 80 unnumbered pages, 24 leaves of plates : 24 photographs ; 31 cm
In original illustrated paper covers, printed in red and black. "No price or part number has been filled in on the wrapper, indicating that Talbot selected it before it entered commercial channels"--Schaaf.
Presentation copy, inscribed on front cover: "À M. [Hippolyte] Fizeau, de la part de l'auteur." "This is the only intact presentation copy known"--Schaaf.
Title page printed in red and black.

Abstract

The first commercially-published book illustrated with photographs. Contains 24 mounted photographs by William Henry Fox Talbot.

Languages

English

Identifiers

Library of Congress Control Number: 09016768
RLIN/OCLC: 3317813
NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b14291831
NYPL Exhibition ID: TL 18.02.043
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 799f0b40-125a-0138-b9ff-60f81dd2b63c

Rights

The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Type Of Resource

Still Image
Text

Date Issued

1844

Cite this item

MLA format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "The pencil of nature" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1844 - 1846. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/799f0b40-125a-0138-b9ff-60f81dd2b63c

APA format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1844 - 1846). The pencil of nature Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/799f0b40-125a-0138-b9ff-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "The pencil of nature" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/799f0b40-125a-0138-b9ff-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/799f0b40-125a-0138-b9ff-60f81dd2b63c | title= (still image; text) The pencil of nature (1844 - 1846) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=November 13, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>