Copy Print From "Celebrated Inscriptions Ancient Eugubine Tablets" c. 1844

This is a copy print made by William Henry Fox Talbot, dating to around 1840, from his series "Celebrated Inscriptions Ancient Eugubine Tablets". Talbot was a pioneer of photography in England, and this print demonstrates the early use of the technology to document historical artifacts. Talbot’s image reproduces a set of ancient bronze tablets discovered in Gubbio, Italy. The tablets are inscribed in the Umbrian language, an extinct Italic language, and are thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE. These tablets were a significant archaeological find, offering insights into the religious practices and social structures of ancient Italy, long since subsumed by the Roman Empire. Talbot’s photographic reproduction of the tablets speaks to the 19th-century interest in classical antiquity. Photography was increasingly being used to record and disseminate knowledge, allowing scholars and the public alike to engage with historical artifacts. Understanding the image therefore relies on knowing something about photography as an institution as well as ancient history.