The driver cracked his whip and the horses broke into a run, leading the coach surging down a steep mountain road. He was some way into his journey, in north-eastern Texas, when the coach ran into trouble. Little did he know, he was about to change the world forever.
He handed his San Francisco shop over to his brother and set off on a stagecoach to buy supplies. This was somewhat problematic, since he was a bookseller. It was the summer of 1860 and Eadweard Muybridge was running low on books.
This story is featured in BBC Future’s “Best of 2018” collection.
