Musconetcong Glen c. 1895

This photograph, "Musconetcong Glen," was made by William H. Rau using a process called albumen print, which involves coating paper with egg whites and silver nitrate. This creates a light-sensitive surface that captures a highly detailed image. What is striking here is the juxtaposition of the natural and the industrial. The lush forest is presented almost as a stage set, framing the railway tracks that cut through the landscape. The very act of photographing this scene speaks to the social and cultural context of the time, when industrial expansion was rapidly transforming the American landscape. Think of the labor involved, not only in laying those tracks but also in extracting the raw materials to make the train and tend the rails. Rau's choice of the albumen process is significant too, as it was a technique closely associated with commercial photography, and also a very time-consuming endeavor. Considering all of this, we begin to see the photograph not just as a landscape, but as a document of a changing world, where industry and nature are in constant negotiation.