Britain’s Birthplace of Photography

by

We Bookfayries surprised our beloved Dina with a visit to Lacock. It’s the place where Henry Fox Talbot produced the first photographic negative from a window of his grand house, Lacock Abbey, in August 1835. Dina was quite excited to visit the museum in his former home and we as well. Of course, Dina had to take a picture of this window too.

Wir Buchfeen haben der lieben Dina eine Reise nach Lacock spendiert. Dort hatte Henry Fox Talbot im August 1835 das erste fotografische Negativ von einem Fenster in seinem großartigen Haus, der Lacock Abbey, aufgenommen. Dina war richtig aufgeregt, das Museum, das heute in diesem Haus untergebracht ist, zu besuchen – und wir ebenso. Natürlich musste auch sie dieses Fenster fotogafieren.

As is often the case, the zeitgeist inspired several inventors finding a technique to take and reproduce pictures. The Frenchman Louis Daguerre also got an idea to fix pictures on a negative for reproducing. So the age of mechanical reproduction of art began. Art lost its aura of uniqueness. With Emil Berliner’s invention of the phonograph, it captured the music as well. Panic-stricken that Daguerre could publish first, Fox Talbot published the technique to fix the instability of light contemporaneous with his French competitor.
Fox Talbot and Daguerre were both painters before. Our Master thinks it’s essential for serious photographers to have knowledge of art history to see their images within the history of pictures.

Wie so häufig hatte der Zeitgeist gleich mehreren Erfindern die Idee, Bilder aufzunehmen und zu reproduzieren, eingehaucht. Der Franzose Louis Daguerre kam nämlich ebenfalls darauf, Bilder auf einem Negativ zu fixieren, mit dessen Hilfe sie reproduziert werden konnten. Hiermit begann das Zeitalter der Reproduzierbarkeit von Kunst, das 45 Jahre später mit Emil Berliners Erfindung des Phonographen auch die Musik erfasste. Kunst verlor die Aura der Einmaligkeit. In Panik, dass Daguerre ihm zuvor kommen könnte, veröffentlichte Fox Talbot gleichzeitig mit Daguerre seine Erfindung die Unbeständigkeit des Lichts zu fixieren.
Fox Talbot und Daguerre waren ursprünglich beide Maler, und so hält es Masterchen heute noch für notwendig, dass sich Fotografen in der Malerei (und Kunstgeschichte) auskennen sollten, um ihre Produkte in der Geschichte der Bildproduktion einordnen zu können.

 

A window into photographic history: The latticed window, first photographed by Talbot with a camera obscura, 1835.

Henry Fox Talbot was a close friend of the polymath John Herschel who invented the blueprint-technique to reproduce technical drawings by printing on light-sensitive paper. Herschel did not only give Talbot’s technique the name “photography” (Talbot called it “photogeny” first) but he also gave him the idea to fix his pictures with thiosulfate. This salt was called “fixing salt” ever since.
Talbot won with the term “photography” over the vain Daguerre who called this technique after himself. We Bookfayries couldn’t stop laughing seeing a photo of Daguerre. Fox Talbot looked much more decent.

                                                                                                     

Henry Fox Talbot war ein enger Freund des Universalgelehrten John Herschel, der die “blueprint” Technik (Blaupause) erfand, als ein Verfahren, technische Zeichnungen durch Kontaktdruck auf lichtempfindliches Papier zu reproduzieren. Herschel schlug nicht nur den Namen “Photography” für diese neue Technik vor, die Fox Talbot “Photogeny” nennen wollte, sondern er brachte Fox Talbot auch auf die Idee, mit dem Salz Thiosulfat seine Bilder zu fixieren. Dieses Salz wurde seitdem “Fixiersalz” genannt.
Mit dem Begriff “Photography” setzte sich Fox Talbot gegen den eitlen Daguerre durch, der diese Technik der Reproduzierbarkeit von Bilder nach sich benannte. Wir Buchfeen bekamen ja einen Lachanfall als wir die Fotos von Daguerre sahen, da wirkt doch Fox Talbot wesentlich gediegener in seiner Selbstdarstellung.

Lacock, beautifully situated in the Wiltshire Cotswolds, is naturally “camera-ready” and a sought after location for filmmakers.

Lacock looks genuine, no signs of the 21st century on the roofs. 

Besides being the English birthplace of photography, Lacock is known as the village that is owned by the National Trust (except two or three houses). So it’s saved and will keep its character. To stroll through the streets seemed to us like a time journey in Fox Talbot’s time. Therefore quite some filming was done here like “Pride and Prejudice“, “Downton Abbey” (very much liked by Dina and our Master), “Cranford” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince“. Next to the Fox Talbot Museum this a magnet for tourists too. You can see children running around disguised as Harry Potter or Hermione in Lacock’s streets. We Bookfayries got Hermione’s magic wand made from real vinewood with a dragon heartstring core as a gift from Dina. She found these wands in a shop here. Now our Bookfayrie magic is even more powerful.

Außer als englischer Geburtsort der Fotografie ist Lacock als Ort bekannt, der bis auf die Ausnahme von  zwei oder drei Häusern dem National Trust gehört. Somit ist Lacock vor Veränderungen geschützt und hat seinen Charakter behalten. Durch die Straßen zu schlendern kam uns wie eine Zeitreise in die Zeit von Fox Talbot vor. So wirkte es auch auf Filmemacher, die hier “Pride and Prejudice“, “Downton Abbey” (was Dinalein und Masterchen lieben), “Cranford” und “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” filmten. Neben dem Fox Talbot Museum zieht dies speziell an Wochenenden Massen von Touristen an. Es ist keine Seltenheit in Lacock Kinder als Harry Potter oder Hermione verkleidet zu treffen. Wir Buchfeen bekamen als Geschenk Hermiones Zauberstab aus dem Holz einer Weinrebe mit einem Kern aus Drachenherzfaser, der in einem Laden hier feilgeboten wurde. Jetzt steht unserem Buchfeenzauber nichts mehr im Wege.

With magic greetings
Mit zauberhaften Grüßen von
Siri 🧚‍♀️ and 🧚‍♀️ Selma

Latest news
Selma just got a labrador puppy she called Kodak. So we have got a Kodak Lab.

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© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2019

 

221 thoughts

    • Good morning, dear Cindy,
      indeed, Louis Daguerre called his technique ‘daguerrotype’ whereas Fox Talbot called it ‘photography’. In the beginning of the history of photography ‘daguerrotype’ was used more than the term ‘photography’. But this changed by the end of the 19th c.
      Thanks for commenting and wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear John,
      on the same trip we visited Bath as well. But we have never been to Chippenham.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      Have a lovely weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  8. Ihr Lieben, so ein feiner Beitrag mal wieder!!! Und so wunderbare Fotos!!! Ja, zweimal drei Ausfrufezeichen, als Unterstreichung für meine Begeisterung.
    Selbst das Wetter hat mitgespielt, das Grau der Wolken passt wunderbar zu den alten Gemäuern, sie schenken den Kontrast.
    Ich stimme auch darin mit euch überein, dass man sich als Fotograf*in mit den verschiedenen Kunstströmungen auseinandersetzen sollte.
    Ich wünsche euch eine wunderbare Zeit und grüße euch von Herzen,
    Ulli

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Ulli,
      nach all dem Sonnenschein haben wir heute bedecktes Wetter.
      Danke, dass dir Dinas Fotos gut gefallen 🙂 🙂 Puh, was haben wir herumgefummelt, sie anmutig zu positionieren.
      Wir haben das Gefühl, dass viele Fotografen und Fotografinnen sich fast ausnahmslos mit der Technik beschäftigen und den künstlerischen Aspekt viel zu wenig betrachten. Deswegen ist das Netz auch voller ähnlicher Bilder.
      Auch dir wünschen wir eine wunderfeine Zeit. Bist du noch im Schwarzwald?
      Mit ganz lieben Grüßen vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Ja, lieber Klaus-Bernd, ich wohne ja seit zwei Jahren nun am Rande des Schwarzwaldes und das wird sich wohl so schnell nicht ändern, weil eben hier auch meine Familie lebt und solange die Enkelkinder noch klein sind, habe ich mich entschieden, hier zu bleiben.
      Herzliche Grüße, Ulli, heute vom sonnigen Berg

      Liked by 3 people

    • Liebe Ulli,
      du wohnst ja auch in einer sehr schönen Gegend. Es ist das Gegenteil von unserer Küstenlandschaft, aber wohl doch genauso naturnah.
      Und, klar doch, man möchte denen nahe sein, die man liebt.
      Herzliche Grüße
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you very much 🙂 🙂
      Actually, Selma wanted to name her puppy Kodiak (after the Kodiak Bears), but it was a spelling mistake to give her the idea of ‘Kodak Lab’.
      Lacock is worth visiting but quite touristy.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, lieber Jürgen,
      schön, von dir zu lesen und herzlichen Dank, dass dir unser Beitrag gefällt 🙂 🙂
      Mit lieben Grüßen von Meer zum Miroland
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Lieber Jochen,
      habe herzlichen Dank für dein Lob 🙂 🙂 das uns gut tut.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer in die große Stadt
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  13. “Lacock” is a beautiful place, and how nice to find your beautiful post here, you almost took me there now… A few years ago I visited this lovely place and the museum is amazing, when I visited there was an exhibition of George Bernard Shaw and his photographs impressed me.
    Happy Birthday to this beautiful begining of photography. As always fascinated me your photographs and post. Thank you, have a nice day and weekend, Love, nia

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Nia,
      we have to admit that we didn’t know that George Bernard Shaw was that much interested in photography. We just read that he collected around 16,000 photographs taken by himself and others. Now one can admire his collection on the net.
      Thank you very much for liking our post 🙂 🙂
      We wish you a happy day and a wonderful weekend as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  14. So now you have a puppy? A potential playmate for Ollie. 🙂 (He is getting rather ‘senior’ for playtime with pups though)
    As we would all have expected, a magical trip to Lacock, in beautiful images, and thoughtful words. Nice to see you back with a blog post.
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pete,
      I took us longer to blog again as we are thoroughly renovating quite a big annexe of our house. It looks already great although there is still a lot to do. It will house an extension of our library, well, it will become a library and a cosy reading room.
      That’s us: after the book-town there comes the photography-village. Siri’s comment: “Typical!”
      With lots of love from the coast and wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Tish,
      Dina had labradors for most of her life and she loves them. It will be a challenge for our beloved Selma to care for her ‘Kodak Lab’.
      Thanks for liking our post and wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Oh dear, we were busy renovating an annexe of our house for an extension of our library. Dina didn’t like that book stands in front of books and lying on books in our existing shelves. So we created space for more than 1000 books and get our library sorted out.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Oh wow – I bet the updated library is a treasure – and What joy – to have the shelves and space – and to have such a collection.
      And I downsized 21 bags of books – couple hundred at least – pulled two books back out and it was a good purge – except there are a couple I wish I kept and might replace .
      Anyhow – space was the reason and so hey – if you can do a renovation and make your grand library work – that is truly special .
      P

      Liked by 2 people

    • You are absolutely right, books need a lot of space. There is no wall in our house without shelves and hardly any place for Dina to present her photographs. I, Klausbernd, had quite a big library before I went for many years to Canada. I gave all my books away and nowadays I regret it. Well, decluttering is fashionable but, I suppose, that doesn’t refer to books. For me some clutter makes a room cosy, but Dina sees that differently.
      We are very happy to have this possibility to dedicate one big room for reading and housing parts of our library.
      Enjoy reading and have a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Well we took a wall of books out of the guest room and some folks did remind me that books in there wood be cozy – but it was time. And I know what you mean about a bit of clutter for cozy and living warm. Really depends on the person – eh?

      Liked by 2 people

  18. Ha, a Kodak Lab! Sounds too good to be true, dear Fab Four. No, you are joking, right? 😉
    The history of photography is interesting and your images are stunning. As in many countries, the science, craft, and art of photography in Norway has also evolved as a result of changing technology and the level of acceptance of photography as an art form in its own right. Last year I visited an exhibition about the history of photography in Norway. The first known photography in our country dates from 1839, when Hans Thøger Winther bought his first camera. The oldest image on file is one of his pictures from 1840, amazing, isn’t it?
    Talk to you soon, have a great weekend.
    Klem, Hjerter ❤

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Hjerter ❤
      behind every joke there is some truth …
      WOW, Hans Thøger Winther took his first photo just five years after Fox Talbot and Daguerre. We are impressed. We suppose that cameras were very expensive then and not that easy to get. What did his first photograph show?
      Thanks for commenting and telling us about the beginning of photography in Norway.
      We'll phone. Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Little is known internationally about the Scandinavian history of photography, because few photohistorians have done research in this field and Scandinavian publishers have not found thefield to be a research area worthy of their investment. Thus the Norwegian inventor of photography, Hans Thøger Winther, is hardly known outside of Scandinavia.
      H.T. Winther was born in Thisted, Denmark, when Norway was still under Danish rule. At the age of fifteen, he moved to Christiania (Oslo) with his parents. There he was educated as a lawyer and was appointed attorney-at-law for all of the Superior Courts of Norway. In 1814, Norway gained freedom from the four hundred years of Danish rule and entered the union with Sweden. Winther had lived for so long in Christiania, had been educated in Norway, and had family and career there at the time of liberation, he naturally became a Norwegian citizen and looked upon himself as entirely Norwegian. In 1822, he opened a bookshop with a music rental library, and early in 1823 he established the first lithographic press in Norway. Two years later, bookprinting was added to the enterprise. 🙂
      Music was his initial publishing interest, but he soon turned to pictures and smaller books. As the enterprise grew, one periodical after another came into being. In 1834, he started the first popular illustrated magazine in Norway, Archiv for Læsning eller Norsk Penning-Magazine, after the popular international model. Because he had his own lithographic press, he did not need to depend on the numerous xylographic illustrations offered in stereotype by the large circulated magazines, such as The Penny-Magazine and Magazin Pittoresque. He had the advantage of superior reproduction quality, and could use original pictures of Norwegian origin. during his active period as editor, he became one of the dominant publishers in Norway. With a serious interest in the diffusion of knowledge, and his love for the Norwegian culture and history, he devoted his production to his concerns with the development of science, industry, arts and handicrafts, in addition to mythology and legends, history, poetry, and easy reading. Then Daguerre’s invention of photography was announced in the daily newspapers in 1839, Winther immediately understood the importance of the new art, and chronicled in his own magazines the events as they developed. Without a doubt, Hans Thøger Winther was the first in Scandinavia to make photographs and to claim to have made independent inventions in photography. In July 1839, he had drafted a document – his testimony affirmed by witnesses – sealed it in an envelope, and deposited it in the custody of a third party.
      Winther then awaited the publication of Daguerre’s invention, as he truly believed that he had solved the secret of Daguerre’s process. But the daguerreotype process turned out to be based on a different principle altogether. Instead of publishing his own results at that point, Winther continued his experiments. In May 1842, he advertised a book about his discoveries, but received little response. Because he discovered a new process at the end of July 1842′, he decided to postpone publication. He hoped to have the book out on the market before the Scandinavian Natural Scientific Meeting in Christiania in the summer of 1844, but he failed to meet that deadline. In the meantime, he published five of his own photographs to create more interest in his process of photography on paper. In 1844, he again advertised for book subscribers, and finally the book was released in May 1845.
      The novelty had been lost, however. By that time, daguerreotypes were common, as the first daguerreotype studios had been open in Christiania for a couple of years.

      You can read more here:

      https://www.academia.edu/10208629/Hans_Thøger_Winther_-_A_Norwegian_Pioneer_in_Photography

      Klem! xx

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear Hjerter,
      thank you VERY very much for this infos about the beginning of Scandinavian photography and about H.T. Winther, VERY INTERESTING.
      Lots of love
      KLEM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Dear Fab Four,
    you bring back lovely memories from The Cotswolds and our visit to beautiful Lacock and Bath. I found the museum very fascinating, I think we spent half a day only in the Lacock Abbey absorbing the history. It was late summer and the village was packed with tourists during daytime. Then the coaches left, more or less at the same time and the setting was totally different, so quiet and peaceful.
    Knowing you lot, I presume the joke at the end is only a joke, or? 🙂 🙂
    God helg,
    Per Magnus. xx

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Dear Per Magnus,
      indeed, it is a joke – but shush, we are not allowed to tell this, it’s Selma’s secret. Now you forget it again!
      We spent more than half a day in the museum as well. We were amazed with what simple means photography started. Photography was an art then and it took nearly 200 years to make it to mass product. Siri asked: “is that progress?”
      Ha de, kram
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Fab Four of Cley,
    Thank you for taking me to that wonderfully maintained history village. The story of photography has been neglected by many, despite so many people being interested in the craft. I’ve watched Dina’s constant improvements in her images over these years and could only dream of being as good!
    I had to chuckle at the end of the post – I am sure you will take wonderful care of your Kodak lab!!
    All the best to my dear friends,
    GP Cox

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, our dear friend 🙂
      it’s a long development from the first photography to modern digital photography. In nearly 200 years photography moved far away from its beginnings. And that not only concerns the technology but the images as well. Early photographs were very much like classical academic art. The art-aspect was predominant. Especially with digital photography this aspect has mostly gone, as we wrote (quoting Walter Benjamin) the picture lost its aura and turned into a mass product. Of course, there are still photographers at top-end to produce art but most of photographs one sees are mass products, they are all similar.
      We are wishing you a wonderful weekend full of joy and send lots of love across the big waters
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  22. In this upsetting Brexit-times I must admit my admiration and attachment to anything English has cooled off a bit, but you just have to love the English way of taking care of their heritage and preserving a beautiful village like this. Pretty as pretty can be! Very interesting history, beautifully illustrated. Your post is a like a time travel. I do hope the politicians sort it out soon, though. No need to comment on politics, I just had to say aaah…

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Dear Juergen,
      nobody wants to hear that B-word here in England either. The whole process is a shame.
      Indeed, the English have a feeling for preserving their heritage. There are big organisations like the National Trust (owned by its members) that take care. It seems to us a typical difference between Germans and the English that in Germany the ADAC is the organisation with most members, in the UK it is the National Trust.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Great post. Great information for us to add to our enjoyment of photography and wanting to understand it more. It always amazes us how these individuals developed these processes and we’re still trying to figure out the best f stop given the lighting situation, 🙂

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Yes, those people put a lot of time and effort into making photography work. Well, they were obsessed by their ideas and worked a lot on the basis of trial and error. It seems to us that people were more patient in the 19th c. than we usually are.
      Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  24. I do not know which part of your outstanding photo essay I should like more, Dina fascinating photos or all the interesting information on England’s birthplace of photography in Lacock. Have a great weekend, you four!

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    • Dear John,
      we can well imagine that you would love being there and looking and taking pictures. Dina’s Nikon was very busy there, we did the looking around 😉
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  31. I wholeheartedly agree that “it’s essential for serious photographers to have knowledge of art history to see their images within the history of pictures.” I worry that many photography students learn techniques but not the history of their art, much less art more generally. But then, alas, in my country (America) and probably in many others, students these days hardly learn any history of any kind at all.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  35. Just when I thought I could not possibly be more charmed by your wonderful writing and gorgeous photos, I got to the bottom of the post: “Selma just got a labrador puppy she called Kodak. So we have got a Kodak Lab.” HAHAHAA! How wonderful.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Maria,
      Lacock is magic, indeed. You travel back into another time there.
      Fox Talbot and Daguerre have been really dedicated to invent what we now call ‘photography’. Fox Talbot and Daguerre haven’t been the only ones who invented the technique of taking pictures and reproducing them. Nicéphore Niépce and Hippolyte Bayard belong to the group of inventors of photography as well, but they never got that known as Fox Talbot and Daguerre.
      Thanks for commenting. We wish you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  37. A beautiful place as any to give birth to photography in Britain. I’m sure that Fox would be pleased with how far Dina has taken his original idea. The quality of the light in her photos is exceptional. Kudos all around and I love the idea of a Kodak Lab puppy!
    Ω

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Allan,
      thank you very much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      It’s amazing how photography has developed since the 19th c. Dina’s digital photography is worlds apart from Fox Talbot’s and Daguerre’s technique of taking pictures – no more fiddling around with chemicals, no more eternally long exposure times …
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  38. A place I have yet to visit so I thank you all for showing me it and the story behind photography. We hope to spend some time in Somerset/Wiltshire at some point this year, but we can’t plan it just yet. I look forward to seeing Selma’s puppy, I am sure Dina will take some gorgeous photos 🙂
    Have a lovely weekend fab four 💕🌼🌷

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Jude,
      when you visit Lacock avoid the weekends. Busloads of tourists are destroying the peaceful atmosphere there. Normal weekdays are fine.
      Selma’s puppy is ‘un-photographable’ like our beloved Selma – you know, fairies and their magic pets don’t like to be photographed. They think it takes their magic away.
      Thanks for your comment. Have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good morning, dear Pit,
      what a beautiful morning, sunshine and a very clear air.
      Well, Selma’s doggie comes from the fairy-land as Selma does. She doesn’t like to have it seen by non-fairies and especially non-Bookfayries. It’s understandable, isn’t it?
      We hope you and Mary are well and wish you an easy weekend.
      Love from
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ok, Klausbernd, a “fairyland puppy” 😉 Thanks for the explanation. Well, if it had been a real one, I would already be sitting on your doorstep patting it! 😉
      Have a wonderful weekend in the small village near the big sea,
      Pit

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Pit,
      you are like Dina who cannot pass by a dog without patting him or her.
      Well, dear Pit, what is real? For Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma the fairyland world is real and our world is just like a dream for them. Aren’t there many realities? 😉
      Have a great time
      Klausbernd and the rest of gang

      Liked by 1 person

    • Yes, dear Pit, I think so. Meditating or practising yoga I am in another reality as when I cutting my lawn or write an article. And going shopping is an entirely different reality as well. Maybe, you know this as well, speaking English I am in other reality as when I speak German.
      We are not so different from our beloved Bookfayries.
      Love
      Kb
      Just guests are coming, I have to finish.

      Liked by 1 person

  41. It is always a pleasure to travel with the Fab Four of Cley. There is a lot happening on your side of the pond – I would love to visit your library (now extended) again and meet Kodak Lab. Dina – your photos are extraordinary – I feel that I could simply slip through the WIFI and join you on the other side. Your lighting and editing work is simply magnificent. Much love and many hugs coming your way. Miss you….

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Rebecca,
      to extend our library was and still is quite a lot of work. Nevertheless it is a work we love and we are nearly there. Next week a shelving system will arrive. Then we have to plan which books we will shift over there. It will be probably all our books about art, photography, colour, design and theory of aesthetics and then we will look if there is still some space left – what we hope as we need desperately more space for our books about piracy and all our Stephen King books are piling up high in front of our bookshelves in our living room. Our books need all the time attention like kiddies. Is not only the reading but also creating space for them, to get them in an order that make sense and sort out books we don’t want any more.
      The next time you will come around, we will welcome you in our new library. But we suppose you will see pictures of it when we are finished. Our dear Dina was the strict design-officer. She will surely take pictures when it’s finished.
      Thanks a lot for liking Dina’s pictures. She loves to take you on a trip – even if it is virtual only.
      Sending you and your family lots of love to Vancouver, many hugs
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • I can hardly wait to see the library – virtually and in person. When I was growing up, my father collected books and more books. We had them all through the house. A home library is a magical place to be. Each book is a friend that introduces to many more friends and exciting adventures – all that leaves an indelible memory within us. I agree wholeheartedly – books need our attention and care. Miss my dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Clare,
      GREAT that you like our post 🙂 🙂 Sorry that it came so late but we are busy to create a new library room. It will soon be finished, hopefully.
      We had a roaring fire going yesterday night. Today the sun is shining. It’s quite warm in the sun although there is still a chill in the air.
      Wishing you an easy and sunny weekend and you stay warm as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Janet,
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are good Bookfayries who actually feel quite hesitant to use their magic wand. They used it only once until now using the Buddhist saying “may all feeling beings be happy”.
      Thank you very much for commenting.
      Have a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  45. A great post here, as a pro photographer I am very familiar with the history of Fox Talbot and Daguerre Type prints, in fact I am lucky to own one of them. What an amazing trip for Hanna to follow their foot steps , beautifully captured. And congratulations for a new family member of Kodak, great name. You should let the Kodak company know about it. Have a great weekend All of you.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Cornelia,
      WOW, you own a Daguerrotype – we have to admit we envy you.
      Thanks for liking Dina’s pictures 🙂 🙂 It’s always a bit tricky to take beautiful pictures when there are quite a lot of tourists around. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma tried to scare them away – half-successfully 😉
      We wish you a great weekend as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you Klausbernd and your “gang”, Yes I can call myself lucky owning One. Oh, I am so familiar with getting tourists out of the view, that’s half of the work of a photo shoot at beautiful places. Thank you for your kind reply, I know you had like over a hundred comments to respond to. Wish you all well.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Cornelia,
      that’s Siri’s and Selma’s job to scare away to tourists. But the cars … oh dear! Well, they have made their signs “Road closed”.
      Indeed, it’s quite a job answering all the comments. On the other hand we love comments 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  46. A much interesting story accompanied with stunning images, my dear friends on the coast. So many exciting overlapping achievements at photography’s infancy. And all matter of national pride, who did what, and when, it is debated even today. I assume Talbot was a scientist rather than an artist, don’t you think? More interested in the perfecting printing techniques than the actual portrayal.

    Hope you are getting on well with your new library. The weather in Stockholm is turning to the better, much appreciated as our mutual friends from Longyearbyen are arriving this afternoon.
    God hälg!
    Kram, Annalena xx

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Annalena,
      the 19th c. was an age of nationalism we fortunately have overcome (except in the UK and US). In the field of photography the main competitors were the French and the English in the first half of this century. One could say that the zeitgeist was ready for this invention. It was a similar situation as with the theory of evolution when Darwin and Russell Wallace got the same idea independently in the middle of the 19th c. That was the same situation as with Fox Talbot and Daguerre: Darwin heard about Russell Wallace’s plan to publish his ideas which made him publish his “Origin of Species” immediately. Anyway, the stupidity of national pride is for most of the European countries history.
      We agree, Talbot was rather a scientist and classical inventor than an artist.
      Our new library room is nearly finished. You have to admire it when you’ll visit us.
      Thanks, hugs and kisses xxx, greetings to Per Magnus
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  49. Your magic is already so powerful ~ those new wands now may make you both a little dangerous too 🙂 It is good to read you again and to see the master Dina at work with her camera and lens ~ such an idyllic place, and Dina’s shots take us into a place where time stands still. I would agree with your master on his idea that it is “essential for serious photographers to have knowledge of art history to see their images within the history of pictures.” Because such knowledge allows photographers to look at all things at different angles; angles not clear or apparent to all – but can be learned by understanding those before us. Beautiful work, and wish you continued, wonderful journeys.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Dalo,
      we will watch Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma not to misuse their magic wands.
      Dina really is a master of photography, we think this too. Great that you like her pictures and our text as well 🙂 🙂
      We suppose, photographers can only produce something that’s really interesting if they understand themselves standing within the history of producing pictures. We also think that photographers need a kind of theory or philosophy as every artist has nowadays.
      Thanks a lot for your comment.
      Have a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  51. Dear Master,

    Thank you for saving my Meisterstück yesterday 🙏🏻

    Another great post which definitely put Lacock on our bucket list of places we shall visit soon.

    Meanwhile, laughing at Louis Daguerre’s photo is not very kind. I think he looks perfectly fine and decent on this superb 1844 portrait by Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot.
    I am just wondering what is laughable about this picture?
    Both Talbot and Daguerre, were geniuses and created at the same period what has become today the universal activity of almost every single human on this planet: Photography.

    Amazing photos as usual from Dina. Fortunately, her personal talent makes her photography different than anybody else.

    Looking forward to visit again, once the new library will shine with all its magic. 😊🤗

    PS: An interesting and funny episode of Daguerre’s life can be read here: https://petapixel.com/2012/11/15/the-first-hoax-photograph-ever-shot/

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Frederic,
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma laughed about the body language of Daguerre, about his hair and how he presents himself. If you see pictures of other people of that time f.e. Alexander von Humboldt (Fox Talbot admired Humboldt) you immediately notice a different body language, not that they have to show everyone immediately how important they are.
      Thanks for the link, poor Hippolyte Bayard 😦
      Thanks for liking Dina’s pictures 🙂 🙂
      We just got all our art books down to our new library room and all the books about polar regions and exploring. To organise them cleverly ans aesthetically takes at least half a day. This reorganising our book collection is quite a job but it is also great to touch every book, dust it and choosing the books for special presentation.
      Have a great afternoon
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  55. Hallo Ihr Lieben 🥰,
    Wir, sprich das Museum Ludwig/ Köln HBF zeigten vor kurzem ein Fotoalbum, welches Talbot Humboldt schenkte, den er sehr verehrte. Aus heutigem Wissen findet man die Fotografien nicht umwerfend- aber für damalige Zeit schon beeindruckend 🤓.
    Alles Gute Doris

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Doris ❣️
      Da geben wir dir völlig recht, Fox Talbots Fotos sind nicht gerade aufregend aus heutiger Sicht. Sie haben weitgehend nur einen dokumentarischen Wert.
      Danke für den Hinweis, dass Fox Talbot Humboldt verehrte 🙏🙏 Das wussten wir gar nicht, obwohl wir vor ein paar Wochen eine umfangreiche Humboldt Biographie lasen (die von Alexander von Humboldt).
      Danke und liebe Grüße vom sonnigen Meer 🌊🌊
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  56. Excellent, this is just what I needed for my travel planning. 🙂 . I’ll make sure to have a stopover in Lacock when I visit Bath after Easter. I looked it up on the map, it’ll be no big detour. Lacock was unbeknown to me until today, thanks for filling the gap. 🙂
    Best regards, Ann

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Ann,
      we wish you a great time at Lacock 🙂 🙂 It’s not far from Bath.
      We are happy that we could fill the gap.
      With kind regards
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Jacqui,
      we would not like the constant stream of tourists at weekends and all summer. And we suppose living in those old house might be romantic but not very comfy.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Mary Lou,
      after a day in the museum we walked around for two days and enjoyed all these old houses and the atmosphere.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  61. This is such a beautiful house, with which I have a family connection. My great great (great?) aunt lived at Lacock for much of her adult life. She was French and was initially the Governess to the family’s children. She became part of the family and lived there until her death. Her harp is on display in (I think) the Drawing Room. Great photos of this lovely place. All the best RH

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Dear RH,
      we are amazed, you have family connections all over England. It’s a great house, indeed. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the harp – or we can’t remember.
      Thank you very much for liking Dina’s photography.
      Wishing you happy Easter
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  63. I can imagine visiting Lacock would be exciting. Not only for the invention of negative-positive photo making, but the place of Fox Talbot lived looks like quite a special place in its own right. A beautiful estate. Talking about the inventors of photography, while Daguerre often has been named the first to invent the photographic process, it’s actually Nicéphore Niépce who captured the first ever photograph.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  65. Die Idee so ein Fenster an die Hauswand zu bauen…!….Laterna Magica in rustical…?….eure Post wirkt auf mich zerstörend, räumt auf, klärt, habe gerade erst angefangen nachzudenken.
    Was brauche ich, was “braucht” die Welt…
    Was macht Sinn….da immer weiter….finde ich.
    Gerade habe ich mit dem (neuen), nicht elektrischen, Handrasenmäher versucht unsere (neue) kleine Rasenfläche zu mähen, so ein Scheiß!
    Die kleinen narzisstischen Ballettmäuse, die ich unterrichte, schauen immer ganz erschrocken, wenn ich solche Wörter benutze; spreche sie deshalb auch gerne vornehm mit französischem Akzent aus…aus Rücksicht.
    Ok, ich gehe, beeindruckender Blogbeitrag!!! Gut zu wissen!!!
    Viel Freude beim Fotografieren und Schreiben und Danke!
    Frohe Ostern wünscht Pia

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Pia,
      schon seit langem sind sich die Philosophen einig, dass die Frage nach dem Sinn sinnlos ist. Sinn ist das, dem man einen Sinn gibt, aber Sinnhaftigkeit ist keine einer Situation oder einer Sache inhärente Eigenschaft. Wenn ich mich recht erinnere, hat das bereits Hegel deutlich gemacht. Die Frage müsste sinnvoll gestellt werden, wem gebe ich einen Sinn und warum.
      Frohe Ostern wünschen wir dir 🙂 🙂 Wir werden gleich das Haus voller Besuch haben zur Einweihung unseres neuen Bibliotheksraums – Champagner und Häppchen zwischen Büchern.
      Puh, ist das warm. Hochsommerlich.
      Alles Liebe
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  66. Such interesting history. Some I knew — at least generally — but much I didn’t. I grew curious about the tintype I have of my great-great-grandparents, and learned that they were less expensive versions of daguerreotypes, and made portraits available to people of lesser means. Since I know when my gr-greats were married, and since I can estimate the age of the three daughters in the photo with them, I’d say the tintype was produced about 1880 or so. It’s fun to think of the image in the context of the historical development of photography.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much for your interesting commentary 🙂 🙂
      Tintypes or ferrotypes were first made at 1855 and were still in use until the thirties of last century. Indeed, it’s amazing how photography developed from negatives on glas, iron and paper to digital pictures with all the means to manipulate them what was much harder in the darkroom.
      By the way, in Arctic photography (on plates) Amundsen manipulated pictures to made him appear as the lonely hero. Frank Hurley, Shackleton’s famous photographer manipulated a photo as well as he needed a picture for his talks of Shackleton coming back rescuing his men.
      Wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  67. Such a wonderful post, Hanne and Klausbernd. Fascinating history of English photography and Hanne’s images are gorgeous and make me want to return to the Cotswalds. I was thrilled to see the first photograph by Niépce at the University of Texas. Thanks for sharing this important history of photography.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jane,
      you are very welcome 🙂 🙂
      Actually, Niépce was the first inventor of the photographic technique, 13 years before Daguerre and Fox Talbot.
      The Cotswolds are very charming. We love the little towns and villages there with houses build of honey-coloured stones.
      Wishing you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃👭🚶‍♂️

      Liked by 2 people

  68. Pingback: Britain’s Birthplace of Photography | QUIT ABUSING THE ANIMALS.GOD IS WATCHING!! -Psalm 50:10-11 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.”

  74. I have only just begun to become familiar with your photography and writing. Both are deep and rich. There is much exploration to be done yet, but I am very glad that I have found the Fab Four. (Now Fab Five?) I will say for the moment: my photography is informed and inspired more by romantic and impressionist artists than by other photographers.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Michael,
      Dina goes the way of a fine art photographer as well.
      Thank you very much for commenting 🙂 🙂 and your kind words 🙂 🙂
      Our dear Master is quite inspired by minimalistic art like de Stijl and partly Bauhaus, especially Josef Albers and Paul Klee, whereas Dina and Selma Bookfayrie:-) are rather preferring the romantic artists as you do.
      With kind regards
      The Fab Four of Cley
      (still 4)
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • WOW, there we have something in common 🙂 🙂 I once sat in the Tate Modern/London an hour in the room that’s dedicated to Rothko’s paintings. There is so much life in these coloured surfaces!
      Ciao
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    • We do! I sat in the same room. In awe. It was very quiet. The day before, I sat in a room at Tate Britain filled with Turners. My nephew and I were the only two in the room. In awe. It was very quiet. Sat for a long time.

      Soon I will respond to another blog by the Fab Four where the question is asked, why do you engage in photography.

      In the meantime, two experiences:

      https://amagablog.com/2019/02/06/unfinished-turner-unfinished-turn/

      https://amagablog.com/2019/01/12/rothko-reflection/

      Ciao,

      Mike

      Liked by 4 people

    • Dear Michael,
      thanks for the links. We are not that often in London but in a couple of weeks we’ll go there. Our Master’s sister will visit us. She is a kind of art-fanatic working at the Museum Ludwig/Cologne. We will surely see Rothko’s and Turner’s pictures again.
      By the way, Turner was a follower of Goethe’s “Theorie of Colour” he studied and understood it when nobody outside Germany was interested in Goethe’s ideas about colour. It influenced his paintings quite a lot.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear Fab Four,
      If you happen to be in London in late August, we would love to see you. Our schedule, unfortunately, does not allow us to get to the North. We will do a one-day workshop with Rachael Talibart on the South coast, which has very excited. I do know that Turner was a follower of Theorie of Colour. He was indeed a forward thinker.
      Love,
      M

      Liked by 1 person

  76. Pingback: Britain’s Birthplace of Photography — The World according to Dina – Rexton digital

    • Thanks a lot, dear Robert,
      we are happy that you like Dina’s photography 🙂 🙂
      Thanks for commenting.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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