ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights Hercule Florence’s activity as a draftsman during the scientific expedition conducted by Baron von Langsdorff, in which Florence engaged shortly after his arrival in Brazil. It explores the context that characterized Brazil during the first decades of the nineteenth century in order to weigh Florence’s production within a colonial socioeconomic framework and an adverse cultural environment. It focuses on the economic and sociocultural environment of Europe by turn of the nineteenth century, a moment of significant momentum for scientific and technical progress amidst the Industrial Revolution that was developing in large urban centers, cradles of important discoveries such as photography. The idea of undertaking an extensive research about Florence and his pioneering experiments and discoveries in the field of photography originated in 1972 from research aimed at gathering elements for a future work on the history of photography in Brazil.
