Gunners, suspicious of an approaching "Taube", don masks as protection against German gas shells 1914 - 1918

Editor: Here we have an image titled "Gunners, suspicious of an approaching "Taube", don masks as protection against German gas shells," likely created sometime between 1914 and 1918. It’s a gelatin-silver print. The composition and tonal range create such a tense atmosphere. What strikes you most about this photograph? Curator: It is interesting to consider the mass production of such images during wartime. Notice how this "Realistic Travels" stereograph was circulated: London, Capetown, Bombay, Melbourne, Toronto, under royal command, with the implicit message. The subject matter is obviously war, the German threat, and how a "Dodapore Troop" of gunners deal with a German gas threat. But it is equally important to study who made and distributed this object, for whom, and for what purpose. The photo appears documentary, doesn’t it? Editor: It certainly does! The figures seem captured in a moment, almost as photojournalism. Curator: Consider how the mass-produced gelatin-silver print functioned in shaping public opinion about the war effort, normalizing the violence and sacrifice involved. The "realism" aesthetic here should be examined as a construction – a crafted image that emphasizes the threat of the “other” and the gunners' protective equipment, all while boosting a sense of security in materials that would protect soldiers. In short, this photo does ideological work by way of a photograph on silver gelatin, widely distributed. What is missing from this image? Editor: Perhaps the immediate horror or the true physical suffering of war? The "realism" sanitizes, doesn't it? Curator: Exactly. Examining its production and consumption reveals its deeper impact. It compels me to think critically about the manufacturing and marketing that fed and perpetuated the war. Editor: So interesting how its materiality and reach become central to understanding its message. Thanks so much!