Paris, Académie des Sciences, 1841. Thick 4to (20.5 x 26.1 cm). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. Contemporary half vellum over marbled boards. Spine with red morocco labels with gilt title.

First edition of several important papers following the first public announcement of the basic process of photography by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851). The pronouncements on Daguerre's invention were made in 1839 by the French physicist and astronomer Dominique François Jean Arago (1786-1851) and mark the beginning of the triumphant process of photography. The first communication by Arago in this volume deals with the announcement by Daguerre that he had been able to produce good images with a shutter speed of just 1 to 2 seconds, whereas in 1839 the exposure time was counted in minutes. We offer the complete volume 12, which, as indicated in the index, contains no less than twenty papers on photography. Library stamp on the half title and title page, otherwise in very good condition.