In “Herschel’s Cyanotype: Invention or Discovery?” Mike Ware talks about not only if the cyanotype was invented or discovered, but also the people and innovations that lead to and surrounded the cynaotype. There are a few things I found interesting about this reading.
First, the contrast between Herschel, the scientist, and Talbot, the producer/artist. Herschel’s interest was purely a scientific one. Ware notes that he was following in his father’s footsteps and hoped for “his investigations [to] vindicate … his father’s work” (371). His father did work on the electromagnetic spectrum and was the scientist who discovered UV rays. Talbot, on the otherhand, wanted to reproduce his artwork using ink.
Second, I found it incredibly interesting the painstaking nature of Herschel’s work. Ware says that he “carried out nearly seven hundred such photochemical experiements” (372). Although, the end of the article notes that his major discovery occurred with only three tests. But, the article does emphasize how many experiments Herschel conducted in his research, many of which failed, but three lead to this discovery.
Fourth, I find the lasting nature of his discovery to be incredibly fascinating. Ware says that the “recipe” Herschel developed in 1842 is the same one used today.