Among the many trial shots Félix Nadar took by artificial light, the study of "Banker D.'s hand" is particularly deserving of attention. Displayed at the French Photography Society in 1861, it was carefully cropped and signed, and information was provided about the technique - i.e. the use of electric light for the prints, which up until that time had depended on daylight. In all likelihood, the subject was inspired by the then-trendy artist and palm-reader Adolphe Desbarolles, whose Mysteries of the Hand: Complete Revelations had just been published in 1859.