"This publication focuses on Talbot's ambitions for the mystical blend of science and art he termed "photogenic drawing" (later called" photography"), as outlined in his classic volume The Pencil of Nature.". "In addition to familiar icons from photography's beginnings, such as Talbot's cameraless photograms of plant forms and lace, and his photographs of Lacock Abbey, the twelfth-century stone building in which he lived and worked, many unseen and little-known experiments with calotypes will be featured in this invaluable new volume on the life and work of Talbot.". "Lively and insightful texts offer new critical perspectives on Talbot's significance in the history of image-making, the illustrated book, and the history of ideas."--BOOK JACKET.