This may be the oldest surviving photo of a human

(CNN) — At first glance, it doesn’t seem that remarkable: An old black-and-white scene of a strangely deserted city, smudged in places by some primitive photographic process.

But this image, taken in Paris, France, in 1838, is believed to be the earliest known photograph featuring a person.

Look in the photo’s lower left corner and you’ll see a man getting his boots cleaned on the sidewalk. The boot-cleaner is there too, although he is harder to spot.

The image has been posted online before, but it gained a higher profile after news site Mashable published a full-page version on Wednesday in partnership with Retronaut, a website that archives photos from the past.

More