William Henry Fox Talbot
Articles of Glass

Articles of Glass

Public Domain

Articles of Glass
ArtistBritish, 1800–1877
CultureBritish
Titles
  • Articles of Glass
Date1844
MediumSalted paper print from paper negative
DimensionsImage: 5 × 6 in. (12.7 × 15.3 cm)
 Sheet: 7 5/16 × 9 1/8 in. (18.6 × 23.1 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2004.690
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
DescriptionBarely five years after first showing his invention—photographs printed from a paper negative—the Victorian polymath William Henry Fox Talbot tackled an ambitious subject frequently favored by still-life painters as a demonstration of virtuoso technique: transparent crystal or glassware visible only as reflected and refracted light. Taken in broad daylight, Articles of Glass demonstrated the capacity of Talbot’s process to capture detail and suggested both the documentary and artistic possibilities of the nascent photographic medium. This image was included in Talbot’s The Pencil of Nature (1844–46), which was the first commercially published book illustrated with photographs.
ProvenanceEx-collection Lacock Abbey; [Charles Isaacs Photography Inc., Malvern, Pennsylvania]; purchased by Manfred Heiting, October 7, 1989; purchased by MFAH, 2004.
Exhibition History"La Natura della Naturamorta - da Fox Talbot ai Nostri Giorni", Galeria d'Arte Moderna, Bologna, 2001.

"Passionate Vision: Celebrating the Life and Photographic Work of Beaumont Newhall," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Lower Brown Corridor and Coat Check Room Gallery, January 15-May 4, 2008.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Marked in black ink, verso, lower right corner: LA4
Marked in pencil, verso, lower left corner: X2474
There is no evident signature.
Catalogue raisonnéSC69

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

IV. Articles of Glass.
William Henry Fox Talbot
IV. Articles of Glass.
1844
Salted paper print from paper negative
2020.346.4
III. Articles of China.
William Henry Fox Talbot
III. Articles of China.
1843–1844
Salted paper print from paper negative
2020.346.3
The Bridge of Sighs, St. John's College, Cambridge
William Henry Fox Talbot
The Bridge of Sighs, St. John's College, Cambridge
1845
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.689
The Bridge of Orleans
William Henry Fox Talbot
The Bridge of Orleans
June 14, 1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.694
The Bridge of Orleans
William Henry Fox Talbot
The Bridge of Orleans
June 14, 1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.693
Nelson's Column under Construction, Trafalgar Square, London
William Henry Fox Talbot
Nelson's Column under Construction, Trafalgar Square, London
April 1844
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.691
Image Not Available for [Portrait of Nicholaas Hennemen]
William Henry Fox Talbot
[Portrait of Nicholaas Hennemen]
c. 1843, printed 1995
Salted paper print from paper negative, printed Michael and Barbara Gray
95.79
Bush of Hydrangea in Flower
William Henry Fox Talbot
Bush of Hydrangea in Flower
1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.692
An Aged Red Cedar in the Grounds of Mount Edgcumbe
William Henry Fox Talbot
An Aged Red Cedar in the Grounds of Mount Edgcumbe
1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.687
The Fruit Sellers
William Henry Fox Talbot
The Fruit Sellers
1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.695
Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond
William Henry Fox Talbot
Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond
1842
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.686
Summit of the Tower of Lacock Abbey, Taken from the Roof of the Building
William Henry Fox Talbot
Summit of the Tower of Lacock Abbey, Taken from the Roof of the Building
October 14, 1840
Salted paper print from paper negative
2015.91