Regent Circus 1850 - 1900

This photograph, Regent Circus, captures a bustling London street. While we don’t know who made it, or exactly when, the albumen print process gives us some clues. A thin coating of egg white and silver nitrate was applied to paper, creating a surface sensitive to light. The negative was then pressed onto the prepared paper and exposed to sunlight. The resulting print reveals a soft, sepia-toned image. It evokes the feel of the city: the clip-clop of horses on pavement, the density of crowds, and the architecture looming in the background. Photography democratized image-making. Unlike painting, which relied on artisanal skill, photography allowed anyone with access to equipment and chemical knowledge to capture and reproduce images. Yet it also created new industries: photographic studios, darkroom workers, and the mass production of photographic materials. This print reminds us that even seemingly straightforward images are born from a complex interplay of material, process, and social context.