Bridge of Sighs, St John's College, Cambridge
Salted paper print by William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) - about 1845
Bridge of Sighs, St John's College, Cambridge by William Henry Fox Talbot
This one of group of early photographs in the Museum's collection using William Henry Fox Talbot's calotype process. Talbot set up his ‘Reading Establishment’ in Baker Street between 1844 and 1847 - it was one of the world's first photographic studios. Talbot invented the negative/positive process for producing photographs between 1835-39. Any number of prints could be made from the same shot by transferring the negative image on to special paper to make a positive print.
At the time of Talbot's visit the gothic revival Bridge of Sighs was a recent addition to St John's College, having been built in 1831 to connect the Third Court with the New Court on the opposite bank of the RIver Cam.
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