Nablûs-The ancient Samaritan Pentateuch before 1866

Editor: Here we have Francis Bedford’s "Nablús-The Ancient Samaritan Pentateuch," a photograph from before 1866, preserved as an albumen print in an album. It shows an open book, with the photographic print on the left page. I’m struck by how a photo can depict an ancient text, bringing together such different eras of media and knowledge. What stands out to you? Curator: Well, doesn't it whisper stories of journeys, of light and shadow dancing across fragile pages? This image makes me think of those long, quiet hours spent in libraries, tracing the ghosts of readers past. Bedford is not simply capturing an object. He’s offering a glimpse into a lineage of preservation. Do you get the sense of the human hand in this, of the careful custodianship required to safeguard such a treasure? Editor: Definitely, especially with the facing page featuring text that describes the depicted Pentateuch, bringing a haptic dimension and providing the viewer with its history and significance! So the work is not only photographic, it involves editorial elements... Curator: Yes, indeed. And there’s a beautiful tension there, isn’t there? The cool detachment of the photographic eye juxtaposed with the passionate, almost reverential, description on the right. Almost like a conversation between reason and faith, or objectivity and reverence. The albumen print itself is such a tactile medium as well... it provides an unique aesthetic in relation to other techniques and approaches to photography. Editor: It’s funny, I came in thinking about its historical content, but now I’m contemplating the act of documentation itself, the layers of time folding into each other through the book. Curator: Isn't it marvelous how a single image can hold so many different paths of discovery, so many silent voices echoing across the ages? Perhaps Bedford, with his photographer's eye, knew exactly what magic he was capturing.