This book delivers an in-depth analysis of Hercule Florence, who is virtually unknown despite being among the world’s photographic pioneers. Based on the texts of various manuscripts, letters, diaries, notes, and advertisements, this book answers numerous questions surrounding Florence’s work, including the materials, methods, and techniques he employed and why it took more than a century for his discovery to come to light. Kossoy’s groundbreaking research establishes Florence’s use of "photographie" to describe the product of his experiments, half a decade before Sir John Herschel recommended "photography" to Henry Fox Talbot. This book aims to change the fact that despite its cultural and historical importance, Florence’s photographic breakthrough remains largely unknown in the English-speaking world.
Boris Kossoy is Professor in the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
PrefaceIntroductionPart I: The Brazil of Hercule Florence1. Brazil at the beginning of the 19th century2. The inventor’s youth3. His arrival to Brazil4. The Langsdorff Expedition5. Vila de São Carlos6. First researches and discoveries7. Campinas’ first typography. The periodical O Paulista8. From the pictorial representation to the Salle Obscure9. Hercule Florence’s other activities after 1839Part II: Photography10. Rediscovering the world11. Europe in the 18th centuryKnowledge in optics: the camera obscuraThe contribution of chemistry12. The multiple inventions of Photography13. The announcement in Brazil of Daguerre’s discovery14. References to Florence’s Discovery by various authors15. References registered by Florence about his discoveryPart III: Replication and Confirmation of Florence’s Discovery16. Critical examination of the sources: Methodology17. Written sourcesDescription of the physical characteristics and content of the diariesAnalysis of the texts related to photography included in the diariesFirst notesThe use of the câmera obscura. Sensitizing paper with silver nitrate"Printing" by means of sunlight Preparing the matrix or "negative" preparation. Materials and techniquesSensitizing surfaces. Chemical substances. Materials and techniquesPrinting platesSearching for a fixing agent. Experimentations with urine. The use of ammonia. Other references.International primacy in the use of the term photographie18. Iconographic SourcesPhysical characteristics and content of the sources. Description and analysis.19. Other Sources20. Florence’s sta