The American annual of photography and photographic times almanac for 1889 1889

Editor: Here we have “The American Annual of Photography and Photographic Times Almanac for 1889.” It's an open book, showing what looks like the title page alongside a faded photographic print. I'm really drawn to all the hand-lettering, the different typefaces. What jumps out to you? Curator: It's fascinating to consider this object as a material product of its time. Think about the labor involved. The paper itself – where did the raw materials come from, and under what conditions was it produced? Then there's the printing process: the typesetting, the physical act of printing. It wasn't a digital file sent to a printer. These were skilled laborers, and each page represents their work. Editor: So, you’re seeing it less as a historical document *about* photography, and more about the… making of the *book*? Curator: Precisely! The materials chosen also reflect social values and economic realities. Why this specific paper? Was it the most affordable, or did it represent a certain quality associated with photographic publications? We can analyze the ink, the binding, everything. Even the way the book has aged tells a story about its material properties and how it's been handled and stored. How was the materiality perceived and what kind of labor was involved? Editor: That's a completely different perspective than what I initially considered. I was focused on the image, but you're making me think about all the unseen processes and physical labor that went into its creation as an object. I learned so much from this. Curator: Absolutely! By analyzing the materiality and labor of art production, we gain deeper insights into the values and systems that shaped artistic creation in different historical contexts.