Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: 1902 Group of patients at Hyde Cottage. 1902

Curator: The sepia tones and the solemn expressions... it feels like a forgotten chapter. Editor: Absolutely. This photograph, taken around 1902 by Woodhead Studio, documents a group of patients at the State Hospital for Epileptics in Palmer, Massachusetts. Curator: You notice the table is bare except for the one large sheet of paper. Do you suppose they are strategizing? Or waiting? Editor: The institutional architecture is so deliberate. This image presents the state’s control and attempts to diagnose mental health, even through photography. Curator: The photograph itself, its materiality, adds to the weight of history, doesn't it? You can almost smell the old paper. Editor: It reminds us that photography was, and remains, a technology used to define, categorize, and ultimately control populations. Curator: Indeed, its a stark reminder of a time when diagnosis felt more like a pronouncement. Editor: A powerful document of societal values.