Charles-François Tiphaigne de La Roche

Giphantia
 Or a View of What Has Passed, What Is Now Passing, and, During the Present Century, What Will Pass, in the World.

"Giphantia" by Charles-François Tiphaigne de La Roche is a novel published in 1760. The title is an anagram of the author's given name. In this remarkable work, the author envisions a process strikingly similar to photography—nearly a century before its invention. Elementary spirits demonstrate a technique for capturing and fixing reflected light rays onto canvas using a viscous substance, creating permanent images that mirrors cannot retain. This prescient vision describes pictures made "in the twinkle of an eye" that time cannot damage.