On the performance of colours - Plant-based spectral photographs by John F. W. Herschel (1792-1871) and the network of experimental practices of scien

Carolin's project is the first to reperform experiments by John F.W. Herschel that studied the photographic action of light on plants and minerals, creating multi-coloured impressions of the solar spectrum and instigating a lively correspondence with scientist Mary Sommerville and chemist/writer Robert Hunt. Only a small set of experiments was communicated to the Royal Society (1840/1842), though unpublished notebook entries expand the investigation from 1829 to 1858. The experiments are an early contribution to spectroscopy, predate colour photography and discovered fundamental concepts of photographic colour production. Largely overlooked in photographic histories, these early investigations form an important but understudied aspect of colour photography studies.