This book is a basic guide to the history of photography till 1918 and it is expected that the reader will consult literature for further research. It is not arranged strictly chronologically or by individual authors, but rather by logical groups of topics, with the development in the Czech lands and the central European region, respectively, mentioned in separate subchapters. Individual photographers, both foreign and domestic ones, are introduced only briefly because emphasis is laid on an understanding of interrelations and of the context. Terms involving photographic technology, the level of which determined photographers' artistic expansion to a great extent at that time, are only explained to an extent necessary for an understanding of how a photograph was obtained and of the effect it had on the viewer.