Download free book Hours of Thought (1839). Overview The history of this volume can be given in a few words. Months ago I said to a beloved relative that during the greater part of my life I had more to do than I could well accomplish, and that now, with health and strength in a measure restored, I sometimes thought I had not enough to do. 20 First Photos from the History of Photography. The now iconic photograph was captured 170+ years ago in 1839. This photograph taken in 1847 via the Daguerreotype process is thought to