The Pioneering Photographic Work of Hercule Florence

Boris Kossoy is Professor in the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Preface



Introduction



Part I: The Brazil of Hercule Florence



1. Brazil at the beginning of the 19th century



2. The inventor’s youth



3. His arrival to Brazil



4. The Langsdorff Expedition



5. Vila de São Carlos



6. First researches and discoveries



7. Campinas’ first typography. The periodical O Paulista



8. From the pictorial representation to the Salle Obscure



9. Hercule Florence’s other activities after 1839



Part II: Photography



10. Rediscovering the world



11. Europe in the 18th century



Knowledge in optics: the camera obscura



The contribution of chemistry



12. The multiple inventions of Photography



13. The announcement in Brazil of Daguerre’s discovery



14. References to Florence’s Discovery by various authors



15. References registered by Florence about his discovery



Part III: Replication and Confirmation of Florence’s Discovery



16. Critical examination of the sources: Methodology



17. Written sources



Description of the physical characteristics and content of the diaries



Analysis of the texts related to photography included in the diaries



First notes



The use of the câmera obscura. Sensitizing paper with silver nitrate



"Printing" by means of sunlight



Preparing the matrix or "negative" preparation. Materials and techniques



Sensitizing surfaces. Chemical substances. Materials and techniques



Printing plates



Searching for a fixing agent. Experimentations with urine. The use of ammonia. Other references.



International primacy in the use of the term photographie



18. Iconographic Sources



Physical characteristics and content of the sources. Description and analysis.



19. Other Sources



20. Florence’s sta