"This book brings together for the first time high-quality reproductions representing the full sweep of Talbot's work. These beautiful images are not only records of scientific triumphs but also the evidence of the first steps in shaping a totally new type of vision. Talbot became the first artist to be trained by the very art that he had invented." "Drawn from public and private collections throughout the world, the one hundred color plates are reproduced in the actual size of the originals and in all the subtle hues that comprised Talbot's early work. While a number of Talbot's most famous images are included, many of the photographs are little known and are reproduced in this volume for the first time. They range from Talbot's Lilliputian pre-1839 negatives (made in "mouse trap" cameras) through botanical photograms to mid-1840s calotypes that demonstrate a sure command of the new art. Each plate is discussed in detail, drawing on important new research the author has conducted in preparation for a catalogue raisonne of Talbot's life's work in photography."--Jacket.