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Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page_ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages 8. Print exceeds margin requirements______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine_______ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print 11. Page(s)___________lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) ___________seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages______ 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received. 16. Other . University Microfilms International THE CAMERA OBSCURA: A CHAPTER IN THE PRE-HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Mary Sayer Hammond# B.F.A.# M.A.E.# Ed.S.# M.F.A. ***** The Ohio state University 1986 Dissertation Committee*.. Approved by Kenneth Marantz Arthur Efland Francis Richardson Adviser Department of Art Education Copyright by Mary sayer Hammond 1986 ...One of the first days of the month of October 1833/ I was amusing myself on the lovely shores of the Lake of Como/ in Italy/ taking sketches with Wollaston's Camera Lucida/ or rather I should say/ attempting to take them; but with the smallest possible amount of success. For when the eye was removed from the prism— in which all looked beautiful— I found that the faithless pencil had only left traces on the paper melancholy to behold. After various fruitless attempts/ I laid aside the instrument/ and came to the conclusion/ that its use required a previous knowledge of drawing/ which unfortunately I did not possess. I then thought of trying again a method which I had tried many years before. This method waS/ to take a Camera Obscura and to throw the image of the object on a piece of transparent tracing paper laid on a pane of glass in the focus of the instrument. On this paper the objects are distinctly seen/ and can be traced on it with a pencil with some degree of accuracy/ though not without much time and trouble. I had tried the simple method during former visits to Italy in 1823 and 1824/ but found it in practice somewhat difficult to manage/ because the pressure of the hand and pencil upon the paper tends to shake and displace the instrument (insecurely fixed/ in all probability/ while taking a hasty sketch by a roadside,- or out of an inn window); and if the instrument is once deranged/ it is most difficult to get it back again/ so as to point truly in its former direction. Besides which/ there is another objection/ namely/ that it baffles the skill and patience of the amateur to trace all the minute details visible on the paper ; so that/ in fact/ he carries away with him little beyond a mere souvenir of the scene— which/ however/ certainly has its value when looked back tO/ in long after years. Such/ then/ was the method which I proposed to try again/ and to endeavour/ as before/ to trace with my pencil the outlines of the scenery depicted on the paper. And this led me to reflect on the inimitable beauty of the pictures of Nature's painting which the glass lens of the Camera throws upon the paper in its focus— fairy pictures/ creations of a moment/ and destined as rapidly to fade away. It was during these thoughts that the idea occurred to me how charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably and . remain fixed upon the paper? William Henry fox Talbot The Pencil of Nature, 1844 In Memory of Suzannv^ Seel 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Very special appreciation is given to Dr. Kenneth A. Marantz for his guidance and direction throughout the writing of this dissertation. Thanks go to the members of the advisory committee. Dr. Arthur Efland and especially Dr. Frank Richardson, as well as to the members of the generals committee. Dr. Leonard Jossem and Dr. Walter Liedtke, for their valuable comments and suggestions. Special thanks go to Sylvia S. Marantz for her technical assistance in translating some very thorny Latin passages. Sincere respect and appreciation are given to my parents, Boyd and Jacquelin Sayer, who taught me the importance and joy of learning. Finally, I offer my deepest appreciation and thanks to my husband, Wiley Sanderson, whose encouragement, support and faith have sustained me over the many years of this research. Ill VITA October 1, 1946.......... Born - Bellingham, Washington 1967....................... B.F.A., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 1968-1971................. Art Supervisor, Madison County Schools, Danielsville, Georgia 1969....................... M.A.E., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 1973................ ...... Ed.S., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 1973-1974.......... ...... Fulbright-Kays Research Grant, Rome, Italy 1976-1977................. Instructor of Art, Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Georgia 1 9 7 7 ....................... M.F.A., Photographic Design, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 1979-1980 ................. Assistant Professor of Art, Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Georgia 1980-Present.... ......... Assistant Professor of Art, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 1982-1984................. National Endowment for the Arts Photographers Fellowship IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................... m VITA .................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................... vii LIST OF PLATES ....................... Ki INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1 CHAPTER PAGE I. THE BEGINNINGS; GREEK AND ARABIC OPTICAL TRADITIONS................................ 6 List of References............... 39 II. LIGHT IN THE WEST: THE 13TH CENTURY............ 40 List of References................. 80 III. QUESTIONES: THE 14TH CENTURY.................... 82 List of References........................... 106 IV. LEONARDO AND THE CAMERA OBSCURA................. 107 List of References........................... 154 V. DIVERSIFICATION OF A TOOL: THE 16TH CENTURY............................................. 155 List of References........................... 198 VI. THE CAMERA OBSCURA IN 17TH CENTURY OPTICAL THEORY. ....................... 200 List of References........................... 260 VII. THE PORTABLE CAMERA OBSCURA IN THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES.......................... 262 List of References............ 331 VIII. THE CAMERA OBSCURA AS A DRAWING TOOL................................................ 333 List of References........... 374 APPENDIX ................................................ 376 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............. 378 I. Primary Sources .................................. 378 A. Manuscripts................ 378 B. Printed Works............................... 380 II. Secondary Sources ..................... 396 VI LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Image formation and inversion through a small aperture..................................... 13 2. Image formation through a large aperture.......... 13 3. Diffraction resulting from image formation through an excessively small aperture ...... 14 4. The double cone or pyramid model of light propagation........................................... 16 5. The Dioptra of Hipparchus........................... 18 6. Al-Kindi's proof of rectilinear propagation (after Lindberg) ........ 22 7. Diagram of a solar eclipse from Pseudo-Euclide's De speculis (after Lindberg)....................... 24 8. Diagram of a solar eclipse, after Pseudo-Euclide De speculis (16th century) Vat. Lat. 2975,