Before the advent of photography, people had to rely on painting and drawing to capture images of people, places, and things. While some people were better at it than others, it was a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process. So, was there photography in the 1700s?
The short answer is no, there was no photography in the 1700s. The first photograph was not taken until the early 1800s, and it would be several decades before photography became commonplace. So, if You’re looking for photographs from the 1700s, You’re out of luck.
However, that doesn’t mean that there were no images from the 1700s. While there were no photographs, there were plenty of paintings and drawings. Some of these were quite detailed and realistic, while others were more stylized. And, of course, there are plenty of written descriptions of people, places, and things from the 1700s. So, while there might not be any photographs, there is still plenty of information and visual material from this time period.
