Ruins of Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia 1864

James Gardner's photograph captures the Ruins of Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, using a process that was both cutting-edge technology and a business. Consider the labor involved: quarrying stone, firing bricks, shipbuilding, and finally, the photographic work itself. The image is a sharp record of devastation, but also hints at the industry that made the Navy Yard possible in the first place. Photography was also an industrial process. Gardner, who printed the image at his studio in Washington D.C., understood this perfectly. In fact, the photograph itself would have been impossible without factories producing chemicals and paper, and the skilled labor to run them. By attending to the making and the context of photographs like this, we gain a deeper understanding of their historical meaning, moving beyond traditional art history to embrace the social and industrial realities they reflect.