Portaal van Carisbrooke Castle before 1862

This photograph, titled 'Portaal van Carisbrooke Castle' was made by McLean & Melhuish. It shows the gate of Carisbrooke Castle, likely in the 19th century, using photography, a relatively new medium at the time. Notice how the rough texture of the stone walls contrasts with the smoother, more finished wood of the gate. The stone, likely quarried locally, speaks to the castle's original construction through manual labor. The gate, carefully crafted with mortise and tenon joinery, reflects a skilled woodworking tradition. Photography here captures the meeting of different eras and ways of making. The castle, built through medieval craftsmanship and social order, now stands as a subject for a modern, mechanically produced image. The photograph itself, reproducible and widely distributable, hints at the changing relationship between labor, technology, and the experience of place. It invites us to consider how new technologies mediate our understanding of the past.