Gezicht op Llandudno c. 1850 - 1880

This stereoscopic card, showing a view of Llandudno, was made by the Manchester Photographic Company. The photographic process itself is central to understanding this image. It’s a chemical and industrial process, involving the precise manipulation of light and silver salts on a treated paper surface. The stereoscopic format, presenting two slightly different perspectives of the same scene, creates an illusion of depth when viewed through a special device. This was a popular form of entertainment and documentation, bringing distant places and experiences into the home. Consider the social context: photography democratized image-making. Yet, the production of photographs also relied on labor, from the factory workers producing the materials to the photographers themselves. While seemingly objective, photographs are always mediated by the choices of the photographer and the biases of the technology. This stereoscopic card reminds us that even seemingly straightforward images are the result of complex processes and social relations.