When was the first photograph taken that could be observed without printing a negative?

Born on March 7, 1765, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce spent much of his adult life experimenting with new technology.

Starting in 1816, Niépce began to tinker with what he called héliographie or “sun writing.” Through trial and error, Niépce was able to produce images on paper coated with silver chloride, but the images were reversed (negatives), and they darkened completely when exposed to sunlight.

In 1826 or 1827, Niépce succeeded in producing the first photograph ever taken. As the Harry Ransom Center reports, he “dissolved light-sensitive bitumen in oil of lavender” then applied a coating of the mixture over a pewter plate.

Next, Niépce slid the plate into a camera obscura. This technology had existed in one form or another for centuries — it was described as long ago as the 4th century B.C.E. — and is basically a dark space with a small hole. As light pours through the hole, it projects a reverse image of the scene outside on the interior wall.

With the pewter plate in place, he moved the camera obscura near a second-story window at his home in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France. Then, he waited. And waited some more. Eight hours later, Niépce found that his experiment had worked. After a long exposure to sunlight, the plate yielded an impression of the courtyard, outbuildings, and trees outside. It didn’t look like much, but “View from the Window at Le Gras” (named for Niépce’s estate) was a remarkable thing. It was the first photo ever taken.