Snapshots From History V11 | A Photographic Journey Into The Past #Video

Hello guys and welcome to another episode with Snapshots from History, taking us on a photographic journey into the past. This photo is often depicted as the World's First Camera, nothing could be further from the truth. However, the story behind this photo is actually quite fascinating. Dating back to the year 1900, around 60 years after the first camera was invented, it was one of the largest cameras in the world at the time, and possibly the first ever camera with a telephoto lens. This camera, built by the commercial photographer George Lawrence, was nicknamed The Mammoth Camera, as it took 15 people to operate with a rear glass plate measuring an incredible 2.4 x 1.3m. The purpose of a camera of such magnitude was to take a whole picture of a brand new train standing in the distance, built by the Chicago & Alton Railway Company. Dubbed, "the handsomest in the world" the trains promotional pamphlet was sent to the World Fair of 1900 in Paris. However, Parisians were sceptical and believed it to be fake, thinking that there is no such camera that can take a picture of that size. Quelling the people's doubts, a French consul was ordered from New York to Chicago to confirm the authenticity. After everything checked out, George Lawrence won the Grand Prize for World Photographic Excellence.