Giraffes, hippopotamus before 1886

This album page features photographs of giraffes and a hippopotamus, taken by J. Fortuné Nott. The prints, likely albumen or gelatin silver, capture these exotic animals in what appears to be a zoological garden. Consider the history of photography itself: the precise chemical processes, the industrial production of photographic paper, and the skilled labor required to produce these images. The photographs would have been made using specialized equipment, and with an understanding of light and composition. The materiality of these images, thus, speaks to a convergence of science, technology, and artistic vision. These photographs also speak to a broader social context of exploration, colonialism, and scientific classification. They remind us that seeing is also a form of making; like the art of taxidermy, the creation of photographic likenesses makes the non-European world knowable, and exchangeable within economic systems. So, when we look at these photographs, let’s consider the complex interplay of materials, processes, and cultural meanings that give them their full significance.