The Wedding (stereograph) c. 1870s

Curator: This stereograph, titled "The Wedding," captures a staged scene, presumably for mass consumption through stereoscope viewers. Look at the meticulous arrangement. Editor: The way the light renders those layers of lace in the women’s dresses—it’s all artifice, isn't it? Mass produced sentimentality. Curator: Consider what "wedding" meant as a ritual, and how this popular image might reinforce the era's ideals. The white gowns echo purity, while the assembled guests and flora hint at abundance and future growth. Editor: And consider the labor involved in producing copies of this scene—the photographers, the printers, the distributors—a whole industry dedicated to selling this image of domestic bliss. Curator: Absolutely. The act of viewing this image, then, becomes a participation in a shared, constructed dream. Editor: Which only strengthens my conviction that it's about commerce as much as romance. Curator: An interesting tension to hold, I think. Editor: Agreed. It makes you wonder what other meanings are layered into the image.