Table Set for Tea 1841 - 1842

This photographic print was created by William Henry Fox Talbot, who pioneered the calotype process. That involved coating paper with silver iodide, exposing it in a camera, and then developing the latent image with gallic acid. In this image, the tonal range is soft, with an almost ghostly feel, not quite like later, sharper photographic processes. You can see the way the light interacts with the objects on the table: the silver tea service, the porcelain cups and saucers, and the linen tablecloth, each rendered in subtle shades of grey and white. This image would have been produced as photography was coming into its own, with the use of chemistry to capture the world, not only emulating painting but transforming the world of documentation. Talbot's work highlights how early photography engaged with broader social and cultural contexts, especially the rituals of domestic life and the burgeoning culture of mass production and consumption.