Gezicht op Table Rock en de Niagarawatervallen 1860s - 1870s

Platt D. Babbitt captured this stereo photograph of Niagara Falls, a popular tourist destination in the mid-19th century. Babbitt’s choice of subject matter is telling. Niagara Falls wasn't just a natural wonder; it was a spectacle shaped by both the sublime and the burgeoning forces of capitalism. The site became a nexus of tourism and commercial activity, which often came at the expense of the indigenous populations, whose ancestral lands were disrupted. The very act of photographing Niagara Falls also raises questions about representation and ownership. Who has the right to capture and commodify such a landscape? Whose stories are told, and whose are erased, in these visual representations? Babbitt's photograph then, becomes more than just a scenic view; it's a window into the complex negotiations of power, identity, and place that defined nineteenth-century America.