Early Photography in Victorian London
The Building of Nelson's Column, ca. 1843 by William Henry Fox Talbot
The Building of Nelson’s Column (ca. 1843) by William Henry Fox Talbot, 1800–1877, BritishYale Center for British Art
William Henry Fox Talbot developed the salted paper print process between 1833 and 1835. It was one of the most popular methods of early photography until the midpoint of the 1850s, when the albumen print came into fashion.
A salted paper print was created by making an ordinary piece of paper light sensitive. To do this, it was bathed in a solution of sodium chloride (salt) then, once dried, it was brushed with a solution of silver nitrate. It could then be exposed to the negative under ultra-violet light to produce a positive image.
Typical characteristics of a salted paper print are their reddish hue and areas fading around the edges of the image. They are also often mounted onto a secondary support such as a piece of cardboard and under close inspection, the fibers of the paper are usually visible.
The salted paper print, and photography generally, allowed for an unprecedented depiction of detail. In this image, we can read a warning on the fence around the construction site against posting "bills" or posters. No one seemed to pay heed to it though. Polkamania sounds like a fun time!
In this image, Talbot documented the construction of Nelson's Column, in Trafalgar Square, London. The monument honors the career of Admiral Horatio Nelson, a celebrated naval officer who died in the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815).
In 1849 four panels would be added to the base of the column. Each was designed by a different artist and depicted battles in which Nelson had fought, with bronze cast from guns captured from the French navy.
In the background, one of the four plinths in Trafalgar Square can be seen. Three of the plinths have statues, the fourth plinth remains empty. Today, contemporary artists are periodically commissioned to create works for the 'fourth plinth'.
Completed in 1843, Nelson's column still stands today as a major landmark and tourist attraction. This work by Fox Talbot is part of a growing collection of photography at the Yale Center for British Art, which can be explored through this platform and the Center's online collection.
