Jennie Kimball (1848-1896) 1869 - 1874

This stereograph, produced by Jeremiah Gurney in New York, presents us with two sepia-toned images of Jennie Kimball. The composition emphasizes her features, drawing us into the texture of her hair and the details of her dress. There's a structured formalism at play here, with Gurney meticulously controlling light and shadow to sculpt Jennie's features. The repetition of her image invites a comparison, yet the subtle variations challenge any fixed reading. We see a play between the reproducible nature of photography and the uniqueness of the individual. This dichotomy reflects broader debates around representation and identity in the 19th century, unsettling easy categorizations of personhood. The duplicated form mirrors the era's fascination with symmetry and the burgeoning science of observation. Notice how the subtle differences in the two images highlight the fleeting nature of the moment, questioning photography's claim to capture a definitive truth. The photograph, therefore, exists not just as a record, but as an active participant in the discourse of image and reality.