Talbot Photo 6(1)

Genre: Architectural Photography

Plate 1 of Matilda Gilchrist-Clark's bound copy of 'The Pencil of Nature'. A view looking north from the High Street towards Queen's College, with the Church of St Peter-in-the-East under scaffolding in the background. This appears to be a replacement, possibly taken by Nicolaas Henneman in 1846, of Talbot's original view (probably taken in September 1843), which was published as the original for plate 1 of 'The Pencil of Nature,' but whose negative had become damaged by early 1846. Paper trimmed to size of image.

The text that accompanies the plate reads, 'This building presents on its surface the most evident marks of the injuries of time and weather, in the abraded state of the stone, which probably was of a bad quality originally. The view is taken from the other side of the High Street - looking North. The time is morning. In the distance is seen at the end of a narrow street the Church of St. Peter's in the East, said to be the most ancient church in Oxford, and built during the Saxon era. This street, shortly after passing the church, turns to the left, and leads to New College.'

For a discussion of the two versions of this image, see Larry J. Schaaf, 'The Photographic Art of William Henry Fox Talbot' (Princeton University Press, Princeton and London, 2000), p. 176.