Wieden, Hauptstraβe No. 37, Wohnhaus des Herrn F. Tomas c. 1860s

Curator: We’re looking at a photograph titled “Wieden, Hauptstraße No. 37, Wohnhaus des Herrn F. Tomas,” taken circa the 1860s, captured on a gelatin-silver print. Editor: There's something dreamlike about this early cityscape. The light is so soft, almost velvety. The shadows have such strange angles too! Curator: Exactly. This photograph offers us a view of everyday life. The careful photographic process transformed a commonplace street in Vienna into something more than just documentation, revealing aspects of its cultural and material composition. We can even identify some shops and businesses, judging by the visible signage, as we investigate a pre-modern cityscape that seems still. Editor: Yes, but think about it; you just feel the sense of transition that permeates every layer, brick, sign and architectural detail of it. Curator: The technical aspects, the labor involved in early photography, dictated so much, you know. Exposure times, the development process... These are not neutral choices. Editor: Totally! And what strikes me is how quiet and empty the city appears; what stories could it tell if walls could talk, right? It’s melancholic! Like a deserted stage setting, still harboring traces of life that were briefly there! I can smell coal dust in the streets, if that makes sense! Curator: And yet there is a palpable focus on precise craftsmanship; observe the care with which each architectural feature has been described. Think about the material realities. The buildings of course. Stone, glass and the printing methods utilizing silver to reveal a glimpse of history. This shows photography at its most revealing stage, with material honesty. Editor: For sure, the ghostly impressions created by the long exposure contribute this profound stillness. I mean, every window and cobblestone whispers untold stories to our curious gaze. Curator: Considering how industrial processes started overtaking artistic ones, that commitment to artisanal image making becomes powerful. Editor: It does! What started as documentation transcended into such poetry! Curator: Yes! We started with urban documentation transformed to reveal complex narratives with deep insight into historical labor practices. Editor: A captured moment; frozen but echoing! Thanks for that.