Aankomst van de transcontinentale trein op Oakland Wharf, aan de baai van San Francisco 1869 - 1886

Curator: Ah, here's "Arrival of the Transcontinental Train at Oakland Wharf, San Francisco Bay", dating somewhere between 1869 and 1886, by Thomas Houseworth. A striking gelatin-silver print. Editor: It's strangely poignant. That locomotive, dead center, like a giant metal face staring right at you. There's a palpable feeling of... expectancy, but also exhaustion? The train looks tired, somehow. Curator: That feeling is heightened by the medium itself. Gelatin-silver gives it a softened, almost dreamlike quality. You can see how the sharp details of the engine contrast with the blur of the figures gathered, a purposeful artistic touch from Houseworth. This was about capturing more than just a moment; it was an era. Editor: The perspective’s powerful too. All those parallel lines converging... really drives home the idea of distance overcome. But, considering the process of collodion printing involved back then, the darkroom labor involved and handling volatile chemicals...it wasn't as simple as "point and shoot" either! What statement does the choice of realism serve? Curator: Think about it: this image wasn’t just documentation, but promotion, for the railroad—and progress. It helped cement the image of San Francisco as this modern boomtown. And of course, these types of photographies were frequently sold as souvenirs for wealthy families on their trips to the Pacific coast! Editor: The material evidence, so to speak. You're spot-on with "era"— that period reeked of westward expansion, ambition, Manifest Destiny and it conveniently masks so much that it represents beyond that. It reminds me a bit of industrial tapestries with less artistry; made as mementos, a display of technological prowess. The romantic landscape tradition meets with photographic realism! Curator: Precisely! A record of not only what was but what *could* be. As viewers today, we inherit both that initial sense of wonder and, with time, also learn to see more acutely what its making involved; the price, so to say. Editor: I agree wholeheartedly; there is something both undeniably hopeful and incredibly heavy encapsulated here. And as more of these modes of transports make its way throughout the globe, maybe something like Houseworth's picture, if retaken, can serve as a way for us to reflect upon history and learn where we may go forward in the coming future!