Hello Rewrite! Leaf Photo Could Rewrite History Books

It started off as a seemingly ordinary contact print from around 1839. An image attributed to Henry Talbot of a leaf that was captured by placing the leaf onto a sheet of photosensitive paper (much like many of us did in college) was put up for auction through Sotheby's. However, according to the New York Times, historian Dr. Larry Schaaaf believes the image was not made by Talbot around 1839 but possibly by Henry Bright as early as the 1790's.

This pronouncement has led to a flurry of study of the leaf image (and other similar images held by various institutions), because it was believed that permanent photographic images were not produced until the late 1830's. If this leaf image, and other similar images, are earlier creations photographic history will be rewritten.