Nicéphore Niépce was a French inventor born in 1765. He invented heliography, a process of photography, in 1825. Using a camera obscura and paper treated with a light-sensitive chemical, he took the earliest known photograph, a picture of a courtyard from his estate called "View from the Window at Le Gras." Though his photographs were mainly experimental rather than artistic, Niépce made huge strides in the development of photography and is credited as one of its inventors.

1. Nicéphore Niépce Christina Buschman 1765 - 1833

5. Nicephore Niepce “Set Table” 1827 Heliograph

6. Nicephore Niepce “View from the Window at Le Gras” 1825 Positive-negative bitumen heliography, 16 x 20 cm

7. Nicephore Niepce “The Cardinal of Amboise” 1826 Reproducation image, 17 x 13 cm

8. Nicephore Niepce “17 th century Flemish Engraving” 1826 Camera Obscura on oil-treated bitumen, 20 x 25 cm