Franconia Notch from Echo Lake 1855 - 1875

The Kilburn Brothers made this stereograph of Franconia Notch from Echo Lake sometime in the late nineteenth century. This photographic printing process gained popularity as a leisure pursuit and offered a sense of depth and realism to depictions of landscapes. Stereographs such as this one played a crucial role in shaping perceptions of nature in the United States during a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization. As more and more people moved into cities, these images provided a window onto rural landscapes. They fuelled a growing interest in nature and outdoor recreation. This particular image is a part of a wider cultural phenomenon which saw the romanticisation of wilderness as a space of escape. Looking at tourist guides and travel accounts from the period, alongside photography collections, we can see how the Kilburn Brothers catered to and shaped the emerging market for landscape tourism. They transformed the untouched wilderness into a commercial product, which simultaneously celebrated and commodified nature.