Bussey Park before 1883

Curator: Here we have a fascinating print titled "Bussey Park," made before 1883 by Allen & Rowell. It depicts a park landscape, a moment captured through early photography. Editor: It feels very ghostly. The tones are muted and soft, lending a dreamlike quality. There's also something compelling in the composition itself. My eyes keep going to that sort of central grid-like shape; I want to know what it's made of. Curator: I am drawn to the symbol of the park itself, a space intended for public enjoyment and perhaps a commentary on the accessibility of nature and recreation during a time of rapid industrial growth. Think of what "park" meant at that point: leisure, social mingling, an escape… Editor: And yet, the image, with its soft focus and grays, speaks more to a different kind of materiality. Early photography was labor-intensive, wasn't it? A photographer spent considerable time setting up equipment, preparing the light-sensitive materials. It seems that this particular photograph wants to remind us of this labor of production that undergirds the aesthetic appeal of an ostensibly “natural” scene. Curator: Interesting! I’d been looking at this park and thinking of idealized landscapes, pastoral ideals, and what that meant for cultural identity... your comment changes how I look at the image, bringing into sharper relief the historical specificity of what materials went into creating this print. And who then had access to that sort of tech and how were these scenes promoted? Editor: Precisely. Who owned it, who processed it, who printed it and consumed it...all integral parts of understanding this photo and park more fully. Curator: It truly allows you to meditate on the nature of representation and what that communicates! Editor: Definitely food for thought about both the "nature" captured and the photograph itself.