Old Hulks 1887

Peter Henry Emerson, a British photographer, created this photogravure titled "Old Hulks." Emerson, working in the late 19th century, sought to capture what he saw as the authentic lives of rural working-class people in the East Anglia region of England. Emerson’s work romanticized the lives of these communities. The image shows children gathered near boats, with the imposing hulks looming in the background. There is a sense of labor and life intertwined, yet it's also a carefully constructed image. Emerson believed in photography as an art form, stating that "…it is a transcript of the simplest facts in nature…". However, his work also reflected a particular vision, filtering reality through his aesthetic and social lens. The photograph thus exists in the tension between objective record and subjective interpretation, raising questions about whose stories get told, and how.