Interieur van de kathedraal van Lichfield before 1870

Editor: Here we have "Interior of Lichfield Cathedral," taken before 1870 by John Benjamin Stone, captured in a gelatin-silver print. I am immediately drawn to the almost ghostly atmosphere created by the photographic process and the sheer scale of the architecture. What strikes you most about this image? Curator: It’s fascinating to consider this gelatin-silver print not just as a representation, but as an object produced within a specific economy of image-making. What labor went into creating this print? What kind of resources were used to treat the paper, develop the photograph, and make the print itself durable? Editor: That’s a very interesting point. I hadn’t really considered the resources needed. Were these processes accessible to just anyone? Curator: Precisely! Photography in this era wasn't the instantaneous practice we know today. It was an industry. Understanding that aspect frames our experience: Who had the means to commission, produce, and consume these images of grand spaces? Whose stories were deemed worthy of preservation and circulation, and whose labor remained invisible in the process? Consider how the industrial production of photography intersects with the display of ecclesiastical power and the cathedral's social function. Editor: So, we should consider not just what the photo shows, but how it was made, and how that making process was connected to wealth and power? Curator: Exactly. Stone wasn’t simply documenting; he was participating in a system. And by looking at the print itself, we can start to uncover the material realities that shaped that system. Editor: I never considered that before, focusing more on the artistic merit, and the architectural depiction. This gives me a completely new lens to view these kinds of photographs. Thank you for this novel perspective! Curator: My pleasure. Every artifact carries within it the story of its production, its consumption, and its place within a network of social relations. By learning to 'read' these material signs, we gain deeper insights into our history.