Hamel, Joseph. Niepce, Daguerre, or Talbot? or The Quest of Joseph Hamel to Find the Real Inventor of Photography by Serge Plantureux.

iepce, Daguerre, or Talbot? or The Quest of Joseph Hamel to Find the Real Inventor of Photography is a highly illustrated historical monograph written by antiquarian photography expert Serge Plantureux. The book recounts the intriguing, real-life detective story of a Russian academician tasked with uncovering the true origins of early photographic technology.

At the center of the narrative is Dr. Joseph Hamel, a Russian physician, explorer, and government agent sent abroad by Tsar Nicholas I. Operating effectively as an early industrial spy, Hamel set out to investigate the competing claims surrounding the world-altering invention of photography during the critical dawn of the medium.

Key Themes & Highlights

• An Academic Spy in Europe: The book details Hamel's travels across the English Channel to secure early photographic specimens and secrets. Acting on behalf of the Russian crown, he successfully acquired William Henry Fox Talbot's "photogenic drawings" and closely examined the rival French methods of Louis Daguerre and Nicéphore Niépce.

• The Struggle for Paternity: Plantureux highlights the bitter rivalries and commercial maneuverings of the era, contrasting Daguerre’s sharp business acumen and legal maneuvering with the quieter, sidelined breakthroughs of Niépce and Talbot.

• The Russian Archive: Hamel's quest eventually resulted in him securing the invaluable family papers of Nicéphore Niépce. This vast collection of manuscripts, early experimental plates, and correspondence was transported to Saint Petersburg.

• Richly Illustrated Visual History: The monograph features historical letters, early experimental images, and primary source documentation to illustrate the scientific race of the 1830s and 1840s, offering a unique, Eastern European perspective on Western photography's history.