Things That Almost Were But Weren't--Photography in 1839 and Television 1924

JF Ptak Science Books LLC  Post 8

Here are Two examples of Things That Almost Were But Weren't:  Photography (1839) and "Television" (1928).
The first item contains a woodcut of a heliotype (being the first image of a photograph produced by non-photographic means); the second displays the method for receiving images of radio shows but is not a television.  Hm. 

First:  The first published non-photographic image of a non-photograph Or "sunpicture") from an Excellent Collection of the Most Basic Papers on Photography, published in 1839

   

Bird, Golding.  "A Treatise on Photogenic Drawing."  In:  London;  The Mirrour,  1839.  1st edition.  The Mirrour, Nos. 945, 946, 947, 949 & 950  423  Small 8vo.  Half-calf.   These five issues comprise this very early work on the new science of photography by Dr. Golding Bird, appearing in "The Mirrour" from April 20-May 25, 1839.  The works includes several photographic essays, including those of Dr. Bird:  "A treatise on photogenic drawing",  (pp. 241-44);  and also  "The new art - photography",  (pp. 261-2, 281-3, 317-18, 333-335.)

It is page 241 (issue no. 945, Saturday April 20) that peaked my interest--it contains the First Facsimile Woodcut of a Photogenic Drawing. This is essentially the first publication of an image produced by any sort of photographic process.  The process here is the 'sun picture", and while not exactly considered a photograph per se, it is a photographic process, making this the first image of a non-photographic photograph.  It predates the first mass-published photograph by four years and the first (entirely) photographically illustrated book (The Pencil of Nature) by six years.  The sun picture, or heliotype, was first described in print in 1801 by both Thomas Wedgewood and Humphrey Davy, and although the process was at least 39 years old at this time there are no recorded *published* images produced by that process. (The woodcut is much larger than usual for The Mirrour, and is also of a unique brown/red color, and of a different hue than any other woodcut that we have seen in any of the issues of the first 45 years of this publication. We were concerned at one time that this image was a photographic process of some sort, but are now convinced that it is a woodcut--a very unusual species of woodcut for this publication, but a woodcut nevertheless.)

Gernsheim states in his History of Photography that  the first photographic camera ever made for sale to the public was advertised by Francis West, an optician of 83 Fleet Street, London, and published in this issue.   

Bird later reworked these sections of the Mirrour into elements of and a chapter in his Elements of Natural Philosophy; (being an experimental introduction to the study of the physical sciences; revised and enlarged third London edition, Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1848). This article was reproduced in the Journal of the Franklin Institute in September 1839 as "Observations on the Application of Heliographic or Photogenic Drawing to Botanical Purposes; with an account of an economic mode of preparing the Paper: "in a Letter to the Editor of the magazine of Natural History".    

Secondly:  The Pre-Television Proto-Television

How to Receive Radio Pictures at Home.  Radiovision Corp, NY. (Copyright) 1928; this does have the date received stamped verso of the title as Aug 1928. 4to, 23pp, nicely illustrated, with TWO FOLDING BLUEPRINTS. Original printed wrappers. Binding somewhat soiled, hole-punch in upper-left corner of the document, owner rubberstamp (Library of Congress) on rear cover. No copies located in the WorldCat/OCLC.   Unusual and rare. $1500
"No greater thrill awaits the radio experimenter than receiving his first picture through the ether…Not many months will pass before picture broadcasts will be a part of every radio broadcast"
This system was offered by Austin G. Cooley, inventor of the Rayfoto system, "the first authentic radio picture apparatus".   This was a very early attempt at mass entertainment via a mechanical medium that proved ineffective by 1929/1931 against the advances of television (By 1927 the great Philo Farnsworth has patented his television;  Charles Jenkins gets the first television broadcast license by the Federal Radio Commission in 1928; and by 1929 Vladimir Zworkin demonstrates the first practical electronic system for both the transmission and reception of images using his new kinescope tube. (The radiovision method was something like a facsimile device, offering a static image every now and again, and was completely outclassed by the moving image).

Comments

[Rick]

Philo T Farnsworth was a fascinating character: both genius and unintended tragicomic player in the many scenes of his life as he tried to make a living from his invention. His widow recorded a long interview--about six hours divided into 30-minute segments--thanks to the Archive of American Television. It can be viewed here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2234469579767309183 . She has worked single-mindedly to raise awareness of her husband's contributions in getting TV off the ground.