St. Paul's Cathedral, London 1850 - 1919

Curator: Looking at this aged photograph of St. Paul's Cathedral by E. Ryder, it feels almost like stepping into a dream, doesn’t it? It resides here in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The hazy sepia tones give it this beautiful otherworldly quality. Editor: Sepia is interesting, giving such presence to something made through mechanical reproduction. Did you see that clock detail and classical symmetry, and then realize it is made, repeated. So much labor went into this beautiful monument of labor... quite amazing. Curator: Absolutely, it's like a dance between grand design and the humble photograph. The choice to capture St. Paul's Cathedral is fascinating in itself. There’s something very timeless and profoundly human about trying to contain a structure so iconic and representative. Editor: Contain is the exact word. These materials that compose the built world demand something of people and environment-- what do you see the photography adding? Curator: It sort of immortalizes the cathedral. Before its image could be endlessly duplicated. It captures a specific moment. And now, the photograph itself has become this unique, historical object. And honestly, even slightly romantic with that warm color and focus. Editor: Romantic indeed... the image carries weight in a historical view-- and it would be difficult to look at something this classical and huge outside the history of production. Think of all that masonry. This picture then isn’t about St Paul's, it’s a historical, beautiful reminder of a place we imagine being a cultural bedrock and meeting point between the earth and... what, sky? Curator: Yes, the photograph is about us and how we relate to these monolithic structures. Perhaps even the structures themselves feel that pressure and shift with time? You know, the cathedral as a co-creator. Anyway, there’s so much depth to find in just this one print, as small as it is. Editor: Well, the weight of history on a postcard... that sounds right to me. A humble frame and image, promising volumes.