In a sale celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sotheby’s photography auctions, a set of nearly 200 early photographs by William Henry Fox Talbott quadrupled its pre-auction high estimate and achieved a new auction record for the artist: $1,956,000.
A rare collection of some of the world’s earliest photographs is coming up for sale. Sotheby’s will be selling nearly 200 photos by 19th-century photography pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot at auction in New York next month.
The world’s first major photography exhibition was held back in 1839 when British scientist and photography pioneer William Henry Fox Talbot held a show to unveil his photo prints to the public.
William Henry Fox Talbot was on his honeymoon at Lake Como in northern Italy in 1833. He was trying to sketch the beautiful lake and the surrounding scenery but was becoming increasingly frustrated with his lack of drawing skills.