Rotsen langs de kust van Devon, met op de achtergrond Ilfracombe c. 1850 - 1880

This stereoscopic photograph shows the rocky coast of Devon, with Ilfracombe in the background; it was captured by an anonymous photographer using the wet collodion process. This technique, which involves coating a glass plate with light-sensitive chemicals, was a mainstay of nineteenth-century photography. It democratized image-making by reducing the cost of capturing a photograph, meaning that it soon became available to a much wider audience. The material qualities of the collodion process – its tonal range and resolution – give this image its distinctive look. This photograph is mounted on cardstock, a process of combining materials, and a further step towards the mass manufacture of images, and mass consumption. Stereoscopic images like this one were a common form of popular entertainment and a method of documenting distant lands and cultures, connecting the viewer to a wider world through the technologies of image production and consumption.