Unloading apparatus with leaden cage, viewed under x-ray. Photoprint from radiograph by W.K. Röntgen, 1895.

The photograph is probably part of Röntgen's evidence to prove that x-rays, unlike cathode rays, are not deflected by a magnet

The print is from one of the first radiographs (x-ray photographs) made by the German physicist, Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen (1845-1923). Röntgen discovered the electro-magnetic rays he named "x-rays" (also known as "Röntgen rays") in Würzburg in November 1895. Röntgen mailed this and other prints to, among others, the British physicist Sir Arthur Schuster, along with an offprint of his article "Über eine neue Art von Strahlen" (1895). Dr Nora H. Schuster, Sir Arthur's daughter, presented the prints to the Wellcome Institute Library in 1962

1895

1 photograph : photoprint from radiograph, albumen ; sheet 18.1 x 13 cm

Entladungsapparat mit Bleikäfig. (Kathodenstrahlen d. Magnet abgelenkt). The lettering is written in Röntgen's hand in black ink on the mount. The mount also bears the stamp: "Physik. Institut der Universität Würzburg"

Wellcome Collection 32903i