Vestibule in het Stadhuis van Manchester 1877

Curator: Here we have a photographic print from 1877 by J. McLeod, entitled "Vestibule in het Stadhuis van Manchester," which translates to "Vestibule in the Manchester City Hall." What's catching your eye? Editor: An oddly quiet grandeur. I almost feel like I'm looking at a stage set. The light, though faint, has a sort of performance to it. I am curious how they lit it for the camera back then. Curator: The photogravure printing process involved etching the image onto a copper plate, inking it, and then transferring it to paper under high pressure. The variations in ink depth create the tonal range we see, richer than a typical photographic print of the era. Editor: Oh, right, like crafting a whole mechanical reproduction by hand almost, not some machine in the way these things often come. Look at how that hand impacts even the feel, something sturdy for this place in town. Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor involved. Each print represents a skilled artisan carefully rendering McLeod's vision. Photography in this era wasn’t simply pointing and shooting; it required considerable craft. Even that aged paper tells part of this story, speaking to how images such as these helped establish notions of the modern urban center. Editor: It strikes me that this painstaking effort has captured more than just the physical space. You can see a palpable sense of importance within it, as if this very labor and attention consecrated what they built here, a true ritual of making space. Curator: Consider too the role of photography itself. The photograph, disseminated as a print, makes the impressive architecture more accessible. It's not just about civic pride, but also about solidifying Manchester’s image as a powerful, modern city for consumption and emulation elsewhere. Editor: This kind of perspective allows it, a moment almost preserved whole. I like to imagine this photograph hanging where others may be—city builders and dwellers from then 'til now who dream dreams here. Curator: I agree, it's about the ongoing influence of such a space as much as the process and material of the photo-making that brought it into existence, still being viewed. Editor: It leaves a quiet question behind... what will they memorialize next, I guess. A hopeful place, I suppose!