The announcement of Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre's daguerreotype process on 7 January 1839 finally brought to public attention years of experimentation by Daguerre, his former collaborator Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833) and the latter's son, Isidore Niépce. A short notice had appeared in the Gazette de France on 6 January without any details, and news of the process quickly spread. In particular, it reached London and prompted Henry Fox Talbot (see page 14) to bring forward the disclosure of his own process.