The Reading Establishment. Artist: Attributed to William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800-1877 Lacock); Attributed to Nicolaas Henneman (Dutch, Heemskerk 1813-1898 London). Dimensions: Left image: 18.6 x 22.4 cm (7 5/16 x 8 13/16 in.)Right image: 18.1 × 22 cm (7 1/8 × 8 11/16 in.)Overall sheet: 19.9 × 49.1 cm (7 13/16 × 19 5/16 in.). Date: 1846.The widespread distribution of large editions of photographic prints was the promise of Talbot's negative-positive process and its principal advantage over the contemporaneous French daguerreotype. In early 1844, in an effort to encourage the mass production of paper photographs, Talbot supported Nicolaas Henneman, his former valet, in the creation of the first photographic printing firm, situated in the town of Reading. It was there that prints for The Pencil of Nature were produced. The activities of the Reading establishment are shown here: Talbot, operating the camera at the center, makes a portrait, while at the right Henneman photogr