Gorham Bacon (1855-1940)

Editor: This is a photograph by William Notman, showing Gorham Bacon, likely taken sometime in the late 19th century. It’s quite small, almost like a trading card. What’s interesting to you about this particular piece? Curator: The albumen print process itself is what captivates me. Consider the labor involved: coating paper with egg whites, sensitizing it with silver nitrate. This was mass-produced portraiture, yet each print possesses unique material qualities born from the process. Editor: So, it's less about Bacon himself and more about how the image was created and circulated? Curator: Precisely. The consumption of these images speaks volumes about Victorian society's relationship to identity, representation, and the burgeoning photographic industry.