Untitled (Christmas card from Sunday School class, children and teachers with nativity scene) c. 1950

This photograph, a Christmas card from a Sunday School class, was made by Robert Burian. The black and white photograph would have been developed using chemical processes and darkroom techniques to bring the image into view. The very material quality of this print tells us something about the technology that was available at the time. The surface texture, weight, and monochromatic palette are all inherent qualities of this process. The card would have been created en masse, either in a photography studio, or on a smaller scale in the Sunday School itself. This speaks to the cultural significance of Christmas as a commercial event, and the role of photography in capturing social interactions, with a collective image made to be distributed among individuals. The inscription at the bottom further personalizes the card, giving it a quality beyond mere mass production. Considering the materials and making involved in the production of this card gives us insights into the cultural significance of photography and the social context in which it was created.