The James Fenton collection, which includes cameras and optical devices, is being transferred to the Fox Talbot Museum by the British Film Institute.
Roger Watson, from the Fox Talbot Museum, in Lacock, said "as a whole, it is judged to be of international significance".
Fox Talbot took the first photographic negative in Lacock in 1835.
Curator Roger Watson said: "The transfer will offer a significant improvement in our ability to tell our core story of the birth of photography and will be a visual feast for our visitors.
"This exceptional collection will provide new resources, allowing the museum to further expand its offer and celebrate its national significance as Britain's birthplace of photography."
A collection of photographic equipment, from the 18th Century to the 1980s, is being given to a Wiltshire museum.