Dilsea edulis before 1892

This is a page showing "Dilsea edulis", created anonymously using photography. The image gives us a direct view of the material qualities of seaweed. But it’s important to remember that this isn’t just a neutral record. Instead, it is an early photographic image of a plant, with the image capturing subtle variations in color and texture, and preserving the seaweed's delicate structure. The technique used here, photography, would have been at the cutting edge of what was technologically possible at the time. New methods for producing images were becoming widespread in the 19th century, marking a shift from artisanal methods to modern techniques of mass production. Thinking about this image, we can see that the mechanical processes of production, and social context, are just as crucial to understanding the image as the plant itself. After all, a photograph is more than just a picture – it is a record of a specific way of seeing and making.