Gezicht op vier huizen in Salem 1879

These photographs of four houses in Salem were published in an unknown year by an anonymous photographer. The collotype process used to reproduce the images relies on the chemical properties of light-sensitive gelatin to transfer the image to paper. What's fascinating here is how the mechanical nature of photography and printing intersects with the subject matter. These are vernacular buildings, made with local materials by local hands. We see the labor of carpenters, bricklayers, and glaziers codified into these simple, sturdy forms. The collotype printing process, while more advanced than earlier forms of reproduction, also involves a kind of labor. The photographer would have carefully framed the images, developed the negatives, and prepared printing plates. The final images, printed in monochrome, have a timeless quality, but also speak to the democratization of image-making in the early 20th century. Considering these houses and the way their images were captured and reproduced helps us appreciate both the specificities of place and the wider social context of early American life. It reminds us that every image, like every building, is the result of material processes and human labor.