Gezicht op Normanhurst Castle te Catsfield before 1875

Editor: Here we have "Gezicht op Normanhurst Castle te Catsfield," or "View of Normanhurst Castle at Catsfield", an albumen print by Wm. E. Thorpe, dating to before 1875. I’m struck by how the framing device and sepia tone give this landscape photography the air of a carefully crafted artifact. What’s your take on this, focusing on its material and social context? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the albumen print process itself. The materiality of the albumen print speaks volumes. The egg white, used to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper, is such an accessible substance, bridging domestic craft and high art photography. Editor: So you're suggesting the everyday nature of the materials gives it a particular reading? Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor involved, the social conditions surrounding photography at this time. Why were albumen prints so popular? It was an industrial reproduction method, right, how would it have challenged existing boundaries of artmaking, or not? Editor: I see what you mean! This reproduction makes the castle visible and more accessible as a commodity. Perhaps its new owner would like a print, a reminder of their recent investment? Curator: Exactly. So it acts as a document of power and property, achieved through a combination of scientific process and human labor. The choice of subject reinforces this reading. How does understanding the production of this image change how we understand the artwork itself? Editor: It shifts my focus away from just seeing a pretty landscape. Now, I'm thinking about Victorian England, class, industrialization, and even breakfast! I guess, at first glance, I wasn’t considering any of that. Curator: Precisely. We went from viewing this photograph as solely an artistic expression to acknowledging its deep connection to industrial labor. Art lives because of and reflects those historical moments.