X-ray photograph of the hand of William George Armstrong

X-ray image of Lord Armstrong's left hand showing its bones and a faint outline of the soft tissue of his fingers, darkening towards his hand and wrist.

Signed and dated on the print, below the thumb: “Armstrong 28 Sept 1896”. Stamped verso: “FROM MR.SWINTONS PHOTOGRAPHIC LABORATORY, 66, VICTORIA STREET, S.W.”. Annotated in ink below this “negative no.161.”

This image is likely to date from the Royal Society's 6 May 1896 soiree and the inscribed date indicates when Armstrong signed the resulting print rather than when the original image was taken. Council Minutes seem to support this, noting that: “Mr.A.A.C.Swinton has presented the Society with a series of Rontgen 'Photographs' taken at the May Soiree, and thanks have been given to him for them.” [Royal Society Council Minutes, Printed, CMP/7, meeting of 29 October 1896, p.294.]

The soiree exhibit was outlined in the Descriptive catalogue. The Royal Society. Conversazione, May 6th, 1896. Burlington House. (Royal Society, London, 1896), p.3. “Practical demonstration of Rontgen's new photography, with experiments and exhibition of results. When a suitable Crookes' vacuum tube is excited, the invisible radiations that proceed from the point where the cathode rays strike a solid substance, will impress photographic plates, will cause certain salts to fluoresce, and will discharge electrified bodies...Since bone is more opaque to these rays than tissue, it is possible by their means to obtain shadow photographs of the bones in the living body...Similarly other hidden objects, such as the coins in a purse, the contents of closed boxes...can be rendered apparent.”

Baron Armstrong of Cragside was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1846.