Working from his country estate near Chalon-sur-Saone, France, Joseph Nicephore Niepce began to experiment with photographic processes in 1816. He was inspired by the newly invented art of lithography, and he began to work on his own way of capturing images. He began by placing engravings, made transparent, onto engraving stones coated with a light-sensitive varnish of his own composition. As he continued to toil with these processes, he found that he had some facility with the camera obscura as well. In the summer of 1826 (after a day-long exposure) he looked at his pewter plate and found that he had captured an outdoor scene from a window in his home. It was the first true photograph. This online exhibit from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin provides interested parties with access to a digitized version of the original photograph, along with information about this important item's preservation and conservation over the past 175 years. Visitors can also view a chronology of related events and view a list of additional resources.