Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Our staff always take the utmost care when working with our collection objects. Sometimes, an object is in a further state of deterioration or more sensitive to environmental conditions, requiring even more precautions to be taken when cataloging, photographing, or otherwise handling it.
The Pencil of Nature (1844–46) by William Henry Fox Talbot—the first commercially published book illustrated with photographs made of negatives—is one of those objects The salted paper prints in the book are not properly fixed, which means that they are extremely sensitive to light-induced deterioration, such as fading and discoloration. Because of the light sensitivity, The Pencil of Nature is rarely accessed and the original object cannot be exhibited.
There are approximately forty surviving copies of the book, and the Eastman Museum is lucky to have two of them, one of which includes all 24 original image plates. This book is part of an initiative to catalog and digitize the museum’s Alden Scott Boyer collection, which includes over 10,000 objects important in the history of photography.
The object’s rarity and sensitivity to light meant that the cataloging and digitizing needed to be performed with utmost care with the supervision of our conservators, Taina Meller and Sarah Casto.
The entire process, from the time The Pencil of Nature was first taken out of its box to when it was returned, had to be done under red safelight conditions. Boyer Project Cataloger Lilyan Jones examined the book and added it to our collection database. In the photography studio, Boyer Project Photographer Mireya Salinas took high-resolution images of the book covers and of each individual spread and page. These images serve as an accurate representation and record of the book, and they can be used for research and exhibition purposes, in publications, and on our online collections.
This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this talk, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Our staff always take the utmost care when working with our collection objects. Sometimes, an object is in a further state of deterioration or more sensitive to environmental conditions, requiring even more precautions to be taken when cataloging, photographing, or otherwise handling it.
The Pencil of Nature (1844–46) by William Henry Fox Talbot—the first commercially published book illustrated with photographs made of negatives—is one of those objects The salted paper prints in the book are not properly fixed, which means that they are extremely sensitive to light-induced deterioration, such as fading and discoloration. Because of the light sensitivity, The Pencil of Nature is rarely accessed and the original object cannot be exhibited.
There are approximately forty surviving copies of the book, and the Eastman Museum is lucky to have two of them, one of which includes all 24 original image plates. This book is part of an initiative to catalog and digitize the museum’s Alden Scott Boyer collection, which includes over 10,000 objects important in the history of photography.
The object’s rarity and sensitivity to light meant that the cataloging and digitizing needed to be performed with utmost care with the supervision of our conservators, Taina Meller and Sarah Casto.
The entire process, from the time The Pencil of Nature was first taken out of its box to when it was returned, had to be done under red safelight conditions. Boyer Project Cataloger Lilyan Jones examined the book and added it to our collection database. In the photography studio, Boyer Project Photographer Mireya Salinas took high-resolution images of the book covers and of each individual spread and page. These images serve as an accurate representation and record of the book, and they can be used for research and exhibition purposes, in publications, and on our online collections.
This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this talk, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
