The World on the Street

In 1838, Louis Daguerre took what is widely believed to be the first photograph of a human figure. His camera was set up overlooking a busy street in Paris, but due to the slow development times, the avenue is empty of people, bar a man having his shoes shined in the bottom left hand corner. Due to their leisurely pace, their figures were cemented on the lens, a blurry, ghostly record of humanity from a former time.

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