Scottish photographer John Thomson (1837-1921) is renowned for his pioneering book Street Life in London, widely regarded as a classic of social documentary and as laying the foundations for today's photojournalism. In a career which also included a series of outstanding photographic portfolios - shot in challenging conditions - documenting life, landscape and architecture in the Far East, followed by a successful studio portraiture business in London, Thomson also took time to translate and edit this edition of Gaston Tissandier's book. 

First published in 1876, A History and Handbook of Photography was a standard reference work of the period, and blends a concise and highly readable history of the invention and development of photography with a uniquely readable account of late-19th century photographic practice - a time when the making of a new image could be measured in hours rather than seconds.

This newly-designed and typeset, richly illustrated, 276-page edition provides - for the first time - an accessible selection from the original Victorian edition.