Early image to undergo further study

A primitive image believed to have been taken decades before what is widely considered to be the dawn of photography has been pulled from an upcoming auction to allow further research as to its authorship.

The image of a leaf was scheduled to be sold at Sotheby’s next Monday and was listed in the auction catalog as “Photographer Unknown.” But Sotheby’s said research by a leading photo expert has suggested that several early photo experimenters could have made the image, including Thomas Wedgwood, James Watt and Humphry Davy, who worked in the medium decades before what is believed to be the birth of photography in 1839.

Sotheby’s said Wednesday that it had decided to pull the lot because the upcoming auction had generated “a spirited and lively dialogue” among photo scholars that would lead to further research.

“Leaf” is a photogenic drawing -- a cameraless process in which an object is placed on silver nitrate-coated paper or leather to form a negative image. It had previously been attributed to William Henry Fox Talbot.