Call Number:

PH-00504

Collection Name:

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce Photography Collection

Creator:

No. of Items:

1 photograph and 1 print

Span Dates:

1827

Description:

This collection contains two works, formerly in the collection of historians Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, by the French scientist and inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (French, 1765-1833). One is an untitled camera photograph—or ‘point de vue’—made with Niépce’s héliographie process in 1827. From 1952 to 1963 it was promoted by the Gernsheims as “The World’s First Photograph.” The second object is a copy of an engraving, printed from a heliographic plate made in 1826. Item-level information follows.

964:0000:0001 -- Untitled 'point de vue,' 1827. Heliograph on pewter, 16.7 x 20.3 x .15 cm (6 9/16 x 8 x 1/16 inches);

964:0000:0004 -- Le Cardinal d’Amboise, after an engraving by Isaac Briot (French, 1585-1670), 1827. Heliogravure printed from a plate produced in 1826 [Musée Nicéphore Niépce, #MNN1975.149.2.5], 19.5 x 12.9 cm (7 11/16 x 5 1/16 inches) (impression); 25.9 x 21.3 cm (10 3/16 x 8 3/8 inches) (irregular sheet).

Access Restrictions:

Advance notice and curatorial approval are required to request 964:0000:0004. To make an appointment, please contact the Curator of Photography.

Location(s):

On permanent display in the lobby of the Harry Ransom Center (964:0000:0001)
Click here to request this item from the reading room

Curatorial permission required Niépce, J.N., Box 1 (964:0000:0004)
Click here to request this item from the reading room

Item(s):

See Also:

Joseph Hamel Photography Collection of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce Research Materials: Photocopies of original Niépce documents and copies of letters, including early letters between Niépce and his brother and letters to and from Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, that are located in the Archives of the Russian Academy.

Helmut and Alison Gernsheim Papers and Photography Collection: Two manuscript copies of Niépce's 'Notice sur l'héliographie,' can be found in Box 29.2 of the Helmut and Alison Gernsheim Papers and Photography Collection (PH-02378).

Portraits of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce Photography Collection: Two portraits of Niépce.

Helmut Gernsheim Photography Collection: Photographs taken by Helmut Gernsheim of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's home in Chalon-sur-Saône (964:0000:0005-0007) and of monuments to him (964:0000:0008-0010) on September 7, 1952, can be found in this collection.

Helmut Gernsheim Reproductions of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce’s Untitled ‘point de vue’ Photography Collection