Still life of a set table, by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, c. 1832, the second earliest known camera photograph of which any visual record has survived. It is seen here in a late 19th century printed reproduction. The original, which was on glass, disappeared very early in the 20th century and is presumed to have been accidentally destroyed; several conflicting accounts of its demise exist, including a suspiciously colorful one in which a mad scientist analyzing it went berserk and smashed it along with everything else in his laboratory.
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
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