Developing Botany—Photography During the Victorian Era

The Victorian era witnessed a period defined by an increasing turn towards progress and scientific interest, particularly the study of natural history. In addition, the emergence of photography resulted in significant changes in Victorian art. The natural world attracted great interest from nineteenth-century photographers. One of the main inventors of photography, Fox Talbot, had a great scientific interest in nature and natural phenomena, including botany. The study of botany and photography increased in popularity during the Victorian era. Moreover, many scientists and academics were interested in improving and developing photographic techniques and taking advantage of these processes, as they could be especially useful for documenting and displaying scientific knowledge, as in the field of botany. This chapter has two objectives regarding the link between botany and photography. The first objective is to find botany among photographs, namely, the botanical elements and the garden represented across the different processes throughout the history of photography. Also, highlight some relevant scientific articles, books, and academic papers in which photography had a very significant presence. Second, the importance of botany in the development of photography should be assessed by evaluating the discreet botanical elements present in the chemistry of each photographic process.