Nieuwjaarswens van rechter Willis voor het jaar 1909 1908

Editor: Here we have "Nieuwjaarswens van rechter Willis voor het jaar 1909", or Judge Willis' New Year's wish for 1909, made around 1908. It’s a daguerreotype photograph, attributed to Elliott & Fry. I'm struck by how formal the portrait feels, especially contrasted with the somewhat decorative frame around it. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: Looking at this image, I'm immediately drawn to the materiality of the daguerreotype itself. Consider the laborious process involved in creating such an image – the careful coating and sensitizing of the silver-plated copper, the extended exposure time, and the meticulous development process. Each step reveals a dependence on material and technical conditions that fundamentally shaped early photographic practice. How do you think the constraints of this early photographic technology affected the final image and its intended audience? Editor: That's a really interesting point. I hadn't thought about how limiting the daguerreotype process must have been. It must have added to the gravitas because there wasn't much room for mistakes! How was the role of labor important in constructing notions of photographic art during this period? Curator: Exactly! These images were carefully constructed commodities. Notice also the studio mark of "Elliott & Fry." It was critical in that period to attach celebrity photographers with their famous clients as it solidified notions of high and commercial culture within photography. The labour of photographers became enmeshed with broader debates about authorship and copyright as photography industrialized. Editor: Wow, I’ve definitely learned to appreciate the history baked into these older photograph technologies, especially considering labor! Curator: And how even a formal portrait can be read as a product of materials and a wider set of social relations around image making.