Description
The camera lucida (meaning “room of light”) was an aid for artists, surveyors and architects. The camera lucida is a four-sided reflective prism on the end of a supporting arm. When positioned above a horizontal sheet of paper it worked by reflecting an image of the scene or document in front of the artist onto the paper to allow it to be copied, and the sliding bar could be adjusted to produce a reduced or enlarged image.
If an exact copy of an object was needed the prism would be positioned at equal distance from the object and the table. The further the object was from the table the more the image size would be reduced.
This particular camera lucida may have been made by William Hyde Wollaston, who originally invented them in the early 1800s.

Display label:
This drawing aid, possibly the prototype, was invented by
Dr. William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828). It enables a person to draw in perspective or to reproduce any print or drawing. It consists of a four-sided prism mounted on the end of a supporting arm. When sited above a horizontal sheet of paper, it is possible to see a reflected image of the scene in front. By looking over the edge of the prism an artist can trace the image on the paper below.  

Wollaston was a natural philosopher who studied at Cambridge (at Gonville and Caius College). He later became the Secretary of the Royal Society (1804-1816).


23/05/2002
Created by: Isabel Foote on 23/05/2002