Meeting of the U. S. Geological Survey in the Lower Firehole Basin 1873

Curator: Here we have William Henry Jackson’s photograph, “Meeting of the U. S. Geological Survey in the Lower Firehole Basin,” taken in 1873. It's an albumen print, which was a popular photographic process at the time. Editor: It’s quite striking how the sepia tones lend it such an antiquated air. I'm drawn to the texture—the grain of the photograph itself and how that impacts my perception. Curator: That’s the magic of albumen prints, the image is actually formed within the egg white layer on the paper! It speaks to the intense labor of early photography, requiring meticulous chemical processes to capture an image, almost alchemical in a way. Beyond that, though, look at this group; can you read anything from their stance, their composition here? Editor: They present themselves, really, as masters of their domain. A battalion of men equipped for mapping and geological surveying with that subtle tension, almost theatrical staging. The photograph immortalizes their endeavor. Are they heroic, scientific, or something else? Curator: In many ways, these surveying teams embodied the era's concept of manifest destiny. They are the visible representation of progress. Consider what’s absent: the indigenous people who surely inhabited this landscape. Their displacement is unspoken. The figures are standing as imposing pillars claiming the area as if no one else exists. Editor: The landscape then, too, performs as both setting and symbol: a place waiting to be "discovered." And to think, that this physical documentation has shaped narratives and legal claims that are present even today. That early science became a tool. Curator: Exactly, it shows how visual artifacts carry historical memory and influence narratives about land use, ownership, and cultural encounter. The very process of capturing this image had social ramifications. Editor: And it urges me to reflect on how we interact with images now: the speed of images, the different materiality. We could spend hours looking and find new points of exploration. Thank you!