Dr Julius Neubronner's Miniature Pigeon Camera
In 1907, apothecary Dr Julius Neubronner patented a lightweight camera carried by pigeons, using a pneumatic timer and leather harness. After the German patent office doubted pigeons could carry 75 grams, he proved it with photos. Exhibited in Dresden, Frankfurt, and Paris, the images were sold as postcards, and the military tested the camera on the Western Front before airplane reconnaissance made it obsolete.
The photos – with their skewed angles and random framing – share a live, wild quality familiar to Generation GoPro but completely novel at the time.