Untitled (woman seated at edge of bassinet, holding baby up) c. 1940

This photograph by Paul Gittings captures a mother and child. The image is created through the traditional darkroom process of film photography, a process rooted in chemistry and optics. Look at the way Gittings has used light and shadow. The stark contrast is characteristic of black and white photography, emphasizing the smooth texture of the mother's dress and the delicate features of the baby. The softness is partly due to the labor and time invested in manually developing and printing each photograph. Gittings was a society photographer, and this type of image served as a carefully composed presentation of familial contentment, a popular theme in middle-class imagery. We can understand the photograph as a material record of aspirational values, made permanent through a labor-intensive process that was nevertheless becoming increasingly industrialized at the time. The photograph's social meaning lies not only in its content but also in the techniques and materials used to create it, reflecting a moment where handcraft and mass production were beginning to merge.