Rare Vintage Photos of Paris Street Scenes Taken by Henry Fox Talbot in 1843

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) was a British scientist, inventor and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th centuries. His work in the 1840s on photomechanical reproduction led to the creation of the photoglyphic engraving process, the precursor to photogravure.

Talbot was the holder of a controversial patent which affected the early development of commercial photography in Britain, and was also a noted photographer who contributed to the development of photography as an artistic medium.

These rare vintage pictures he took street scenes in Paris in 1843 when traveling to negotiate a licensing agreement for the French rights to his patented calotype process and to give firsthand instruction in its use to the licensee, the Marquis of Bassano.

Avenue de la Paix, Paris, France, 1843

Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, 1843

Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, 1843

Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, 1843

Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, 1843

Boulevard des Italiens, Paris, 1843

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1843

Notre Dame de Paris, 1843

Place Vendome, Paris, France, 1843

The Boulevards at Paris, 1843

View from the photographer's window on Avenue de la Paix, Paris, 1843

View from the photographer's window on Avenue de la Paix, Paris, 1843

View of the Boulevards of Paris, 1843