Windhond before 1888

This photogravure of a windhound, or greyhound, is part of a larger book of images. It represents a moment in the history of photographic reproduction. Photogravure is an intaglio printmaking process. The image is photographically transferred to a metal plate, etched, and then printed. The greyhound is rendered with incredible tonal subtlety. The process transforms the photographic image into an object with both visual and tactile presence. Consider the amount of work involved: the photography, the etching, the printing, and the binding. It gives value to the image. It elevates it. It turns the dog into an aesthetic object, a stand-in for the good life. Looking at this print, we can consider how the making of images impacts their meaning. Here, the use of this elaborate process shows how an everyday scene is transformed into something of significance. It challenges the distinction between the everyday and the elevated.