@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "History, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Barr, Debra Elaine"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-05-03T23:41:51Z"@en, "1985"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Archival Studies - MAS"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """Through a comparison of the literature produced by general archival theorists with that published by photographic archivists, it becomes clear that archival principles are not routinely applied to records in photographic form. Since reflecting knowledge about records creators and circumstances of creation is a basic archival responsibility, this thesis will begin with a discussion of a variety of past and present purposes of photographers in general. The ways in which both purposes and methods can influence photographic information will also be studied. The obligation of photographic archivists to examine records and creators in terms of administrative (including legal), scholarly and other user values will then be examined. The thesis will conclude with a survey of the literature produced by North American photographic archivists to determine whether their responsibilities are fully recognized."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/24387?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "ANALYZING PHOTOGRAPHS IN ARCHIVAL TERMS By DEBRA ELAINE BARR B.A., Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y , 1976 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHIVAL STUDIES i n THE FACULTY OF ARTS A d m i n i s t e r e d by S c h o o l o f L i b r a r i a n s h i p and Department o f H i s t o r y We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s as c o n f o r m i n g f.o the^^$f<3ujt>red s t a n d a r d THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A p r i l 1985 ® Debra E l a i n e B a r r , 1985 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. I t i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date DE -6 (3/81) A b s t r a c t T h r o u g h a c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e p r o d u c e d by g e n e r a l a r c h i v a l t h e o r i s t s w i t h t h a t p u b l i s h e d by p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s , i t b e c o m e s c l e a r t h a t a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e s a r e n o t r o u t i n e l y a p p l i e d t o r e c o r d s i n p h o t o g r a p h i c f o r m . S i n c e r e f l e c t i n g k n o w l e d g e a b o u t r e c o r d s c r e a t o r s and c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f c r e a t i o n i s a b a s i c a r c h i v a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , t h i s t h e s i s w i l l b e g i n w i t h a d i s c u s s i o n o f a v a r i e t y o f p a s t and p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s o f p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n g e n e r a l . The ways i n w h i c h b o t h p u r p o s e s and m e t h o d s c a n i n f l u e n c e p h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n w i l l a l s o be s t u d i e d . The o b l i g a t i o n o f p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s t o e x a m i n e r e c o r d s and c r e a t o r s i n t e r m s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ( i n c l u d i n g l e g a l ) , s c h o l a r l y and o t h e r u s e r v a l u e s w i l l t h e n be e x a m i n e d . The t h e s i s w i l l c o n c l u d e w i t h a s u r v e y o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e p r o d u c e d by N o r t h A m e r i c a n p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s a r e f u l l y r e c o g n i z e d . i i i T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s A b s t r a c t i i T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s I i i I n t r o d u c t i o n i v C h a p t e r 1 The I n v e n t i o n o f the Medium 1 C h a p t e r 2 The Power and L i m i t a t i o n s of t h e Medium 1 1 C h a p t e r 3 O f f i c i a l and U n o f f i c i a l P r o d u c t i o n o f P h o t o g r a p h s i n Modern S o c i e t i e s 22 C h a p t e r 4 A d m i n i s t r a t i v e V a l u e i n A r c h i v a l P h o t o g r a p h s 39 C h a p t e r 5 Recent S c h o l a r l y Uses of P h o t o g r a p h s 55 C h a p t e r 6 A C r i c t i c a l S u r v e y o f L i t e r a t u r e by P h o t o g r a p h i c A r c h i v i s t s 64 B i b l i o g r a p h y 84 i v I n t r o d u c t i o n T h e r e f l e c t i o n o f k n o w l e d g e a b o u t r e c o r d s c r e a t o r s a n d c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f c r e a t i o n ( p r o v e n a n c e ) i s a b a s i c a r c h i v a l t a s k . T h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h i s t h e s i s , t h e r e f o r e , w i l l be a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e p u r p o s e s a n d m e t h o d s o f p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n g e n e r a l . I n t h e o p e n i n g c h a p t e r , t h e p u r p o s e s f o r w h i c h t h e m e d i u m was f i r s t a d o p t e d w i l l be s t u d i e d . T h e a i m o f t h e s e c o n d c h a p t e r w i l l be t o r e a c h an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e w a y s i n w h i c h t h e p u r p o s e s a n d t e c h n i q u e s o f p h o t o g r a p h e r s c a n i n f l u e n c e p h o t o g r a p h i c r e c o r d s p r o d u c e d . B e c a u s e a r c h i v i s t s o f t e n c o l l e c t a r a n g e o f o f f i c i a l l y a n d u n o f f i c i a l l y c r e a t e d m a t e r i a l , t h e t h i r d c h a p t e r w i l l s u m m a r i z e some o f t h e v a r i e d p u r p o s e s t o w h i c h t h e p h o t o g r a p h i c m e d i u m i s a p p l i e d i n m o d e r n i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t i e s . T h e s e c o n d h a l f o f t h e t h e s i s w i l l be an e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s t o r e f l e c t t h e p r o v e n a n c e o f r e c o r d s w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , s c h o l a r l y a n d o t h e r u s e r v a l u e s . I n t h e f o u r t h c h a p t e r , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ( i n c l u d i n g l e g a l ) v a l u e o f a r c h i v a l p h o t o g r a p h s w i l l be d i s c u s s e d . B e c a u s e a r c h i v i s t s o f t e n s e r v e s c h o l a r s i n a d d i t i o n t o s p o n s o r i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s , t h e f i f t h c h a p t e r w i l l p r o v i d e an o v e r v i e w o f r e c e n t t r e n d s i n t h e u s e o f p h o t o g r a p h s V i n the humanities and s o c i a l s c i e n c e s . In the f i n a l chapter, the l i t e r a t u r e published by photographic a r c h i v i s t s i n North America w i l l be evaluated to demonstrate that they are l a r g e l y unaware of the v a r i e t y of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and s c h o l a r l y a p p l i c a t i o n s of the medium and seldom recognize t h e i r o b l i g a t i o n to analyze photographs i n a r c h i v a l terms. 1 CHAPTER ONE THE INVENTION OF THE MEDIUM The meaning of any record , as i s acknowledged in the a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e of provenance, i s i n e x t r i c a b l y fastened to the aims and methods of i t s c r e a t o r . 1 Unaware of the l i m i t a t i o n s of communication media, however, the user too r e a d i l y accepts documented views of the world without consider ing the circumstances under which they have been fashioned. In f a c t , as noted c r i t i c Susan Sontag has observed, humankind reve ls in mere images of r e a l i t y . 2 We have long been entranced by v i s u a l r e f l e c t i o n s of ourselves and our environments, and during the past two hundred years we have developed inc reas ing ly sophis t icated means of preserving them. During the eighteenth century, the act i ve use of mechanical a ids to the graphic representat ion of r e f l e c t i o n s cast through ref ined glass lenses led to the discovery of a powerful image-making process. By 1826, in a v i l l a g e in France, Joseph Nicephore Niepce had invented photography.3 The s i l e n t partner of Niepce was a new s c i e n t i f i c a t t i t u d e : The greatest invent ion of the nineteenth century was the invent ion of the method of 2 invention . . . the f u l l se l f - consc ious r e a l i z a t i o n of the power of p r o f e s s i o n a l -ism in knowledge in a l l i t s departments, and of the way to produce the p r o f e s s i o n -a l s . . . w a s f i r s t completely atta ined in the nineteenth century.^ Des i r ing c e r t a i n e f f e c t s , s c i e n t i s t s sys temat ica l l y developed the too ls needed to r e l i a b l y cause them. During the 1700s, the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of Europe had created a large c lass of people with the i n c l i n a t i o n , the time and the resources a v a i l a b l e for the i m i t a t i o n of r u l i n g - c l a s s s e l f - a b s o r p t i o n . The bourgeoisie developed a passion for p o r t r a i t u r e . Perce iv ing new markets, a r t i s t s were able to respond by dev is ing e f f i c i e n t methods of product ion, and came to r e l y upon such instruments as the camera obscura. A box with a lens at one end, i t transformed a natura l scene into a traceable l ikeness on a b u i l t - i n screen.5 S i m i l a r subst i tu tes for a r t i s t i c s k i l l were frequently used: The middle c lass wanted cheap p o r t r a i t s ; mechanical devices to e l iminate the need for lengthy a r t i s t i c t r a i n i n g were put in i t s hands, so that every man could become something of an a r t i s t . The s i lhouet te required merely the a b i l i t y to trace a cast shadow; the physionotrace, invented by G i l l e s Louis Chretien in 1786, asked no more of a beginner.6 To remove the need for ta len t from the por t ra i t -making process a l together , a r t i s t s searched for ways to capture permanently the p ic tu res cast by o p t i c a l instruments. The 3 l i g h t - s e n s i t i v i t y of s e v e r a l s u b s t a n c e s ( o f s i l v e r h a l i d e compounds, f o r i n s t a n c e ) had l o n g been e s t a b l i s h e d . An o b j e c t h e l d o v e r a medium c o a t e d by s i l v e r h a l i d e p r o d u c e s an image by c u r t a i l i n g the a b i l i t y of l i g h t t o a f f e c t t h e a r e a s which i t shadows. To p r e v e n t the s u b s e q u e n t a c t i o n of l i g h t upon the shadowed a r e a s once the o b j e c t has been withdrawn (and t h e r e b y to c r e a t e a permanent r e c o r d , or \" p h o t o g r a p h , \" o f the o b j e c t ) , the medium must be d e - s e n s i t i z e d t h r o u g h c h e m i c a l t r e a t m e n t . The need f o r a s u i t a b l e s t a b i l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s was r e c o g n i z e d by s e v e r a l s c i e n t i s t s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . ^ J o s e p h N i e p c e , a F r e n c h c i t i z e n , was an a r d e n t i n v e n t o r . D u r i n g the 1820s, he d i s c o v e r e d a way to s t a b i l i z e the r e f l e c t i o n s formed on s e n s i t i z e d m e t a l p l a t e s by the p r o j e c t i o n of l i g h t , and a l s o e x p e r i m e n t e d w i t h t h e camera o b s c u r a . ^ In 1826, N i e p c e l e a r n e d t h a t L o u i s D a g u e r r e , an a r t i s t and e n t r e p r e n e u r , was w o r k i n g i n a s i m i l a r v e i n . ^ D a g u e r r e f r e q u e n t l y used the camera o b s c u r a to c r e a t e i l l u s i o n i s t i c l i g h t i n g s p e c t a c l e s as s e t t i n g s f o r t h e a t r i c a l shows.10 Overcoming i n i t i a l w a r i n e s s , t h e s c i e n t i s t and t h e a r t i s t d e c i d e d to c o l l a b o r a t e . By 1837, u s i n g a m o d i f i e d v e r s i o n o f N i e p c e ' s p r o c e s s , D a g u e r r e was a b l e t o p e r m a n e n t l y f i x d e t a i l e d images on a m e t a l l i c base.11 P u b l i c i n t e r e s t i n the d a g u e r r o t y p e was s t r o n g . F o r s e e i n g i t s a p p l i c a t i o n s , a s c i e n t i s t p e r s u a d e d the F r e n c h 4 g o v e r n m e n t t o p u r c h a s e t h e p a t e n t and t o make t h e method f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e . ^ ^ T n e g o v e r n m e n t m i n i s t e r h a n d l i n g t h e p e t i t i o n s u g g e s t e d t h a t , i n h i s o p i n i o n , p h o t o g r a p h y w o u l d r e n d e r g r e a t s e r v i c e t o t h e s t u d y o f s c i e n c e and w o u l d be o f even g r e a t e r b e n e f i t t o t h e a r t s . ^ The d a g u e r r o t y p e p r o c e s s was soon e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y a d o p t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e W e s t e r n w o r l d . However, i t was n o t w i t h o u t d i s a d v a n t a g e s . A l e n g t h y t i m e p e r i o d was r e q u i r e d f o r r e f l e c t i o n s t o r e g i s t e r on a c o a t e d p l a t e , m a k i n g p o r t r a i t u r e awkward and p r e v e n t i n g t h e d e p i c t i o n o f a c t i o n . The s t r e e t s c e n e s w h i c h were commonly p r e s e n t e d by p h o t o g r a p h e r s , f o r e x a m p l e , seem s t r a n g e l y d e v o i d o f p e d e s t r i a n s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , a v a r i e t y o f p e o p l e r e m a i n e d k e e n l y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e i n v e n t i o n and were s u c c e s s f u l l y d a g u e r r o t y p e d ; c o u n t l e s s s t i l l l i f e s and l a n d s c a p e s were a l s o p o r t r a y e d . ^ W h i l e F r e n c h i n v e n t o r s were e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h o p t i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s , an E n g l i s h s c i e n t i s t was a l s o a t t e m p t i n g t o s t a b i l i z e m e c h a n i c a l l y - p r o d u c e d i m a g e s . The i n t e r e s t s o f W i l l i a m Henry Fox T a l b o t were n o t p u r e l y s c i e n t i f i c . S k e t c h i n g I t a l i a n l a n d s c a p e s w i t h t h e a i d o f a camera o b s c u r a , he f o u n d i t s \" f a i r y p i c t u r e s \" r e m a r k a b l y b e a u t i f u l , and l a m e n t e d h i s i n a b i l i t y t o t r a c e them a c c u r a t e l y : \" I t was d u r i n g t h e s e t h o u g h t s t h a t t h e i d e a o c c u r r e d t o me, how c h a r m i n g i t w o u l d be i f i t were p o s s i b l e t o c a u s e t h e s e n a t u r a l i m a g e s t o i m p r i n t t h e m s e l v e s d u r a b l y , and r e m a i n 5 f i x e d upon t h e p a p e r . T o Fox T a l b o t , t h e p r o m i s e o f p h o t o g r a p h y was t h a t i t w o u l d f a i t h f u l l y r e c o r d a \" n a t u r a l p i c t u r e , \" one c r e a t e d \"by t h e a g e n c y o f l i g h t a l o n e , w i t h o u t any a i d w h a t e v e r f r o m t h e a r t i s t ' s p e n c i l . \" 1 6 By 1835, Fox T a l b o t had d e v i s e d a means o f f i x i n g r e f l e c t i o n s on p a p e r u s i n g r i n s e s o f e i t h e r p o t a s s i u m i o d i d e o r s o d i u m c h l o r i d e (common s a l t ) . H i s method was n o t e n t i r e l y r e l i a b l e . A n o t h e r E n g l i s h s c i e n t i s t , S i r Oohn H e r s c h e l , l a t e r i m p r o v e d t h e p r o c e s s by w a s h i n g e x p o s e d p h o t o g r a p h s w i t h h y p o s u l p h i t e o f s o d a (\"hypo\").17 p o x T a l b o t ' s \" p h o t o g e n i c d r a w i n g s \" f i r s t a p p e a r e d r e v e r s e d , . b u t he soon d i s c o v e r e d a way t o p r i n t an u n l i m i t e d number o f r e - r e v e r s e d \" p o s i t i v e s \" f r o m t h e r e v e r s e d \"negative.\"''® T h i s t e c h n i q u e gave h i s p r o c e s s an i m p o r t a n t a d v a n t a g e o v e r D a g u e r r e ' s : w h i l e t h e t a l b o t y p e c o u l d be r e p r o d u c e d i n mass q u a n t i t i e s , e a c h d a g u e r r o t y p e was u n i q u e , and c o u l d be d u p l i c a t e d o n l y by hand t r a n s f e r t o a n o t h e r medium. The d a g u e r r o t y p e , h o w e v e r , c o u l d h o l d a more d e t a i l e d i m a g e . A l t h o u g h n o t o r i g i n a l l y m o t i v a t e d by f i n a n c i a l g a i n , Fox T a l b o t e v e n t u a l l y p a t e n t e d t h e t a l b o t y p e , p o s s i b l y f o l l o w i n g t h e e x a m p l e s e t by D a g u e r r e . He u s e d h i s i n v e n t i o n t o p h o t o g r a p h a v a r i e t y o f s u b j e c t s : \"a p a t t e r n o f l a c e s , \" b o t a n i c a l s p e c i m e n s , l a n d s c a p e s and d o m e s t i c s c e n e s . 1 9 O t h e r p h o t o g r a p h e r s e m p l o y e d t h e p r o c e s s p r i m a r i l y t o r e c o r d a r c h i t e c t u r a l f e a t u r e s and p a s t o r a l s c e n e s . The H i s t o r i c a l 6 Monuments Commission, for instance , a French government agency responsible for the preservat ion and res to ra t ion of ca thedra ls , used the talbotype for documentary purposes.20 P o r t r a i t i s t s favored the daguerrotype, which could be more r a p i d l y produced.21 The demand for p o r t r a i t s had become so great by the 1850s that photographers could scarce ly cope. A procedure developed in 1851, the c o l l o d i o n process, soon ec l ipsed i t s predecessors. I t permitted shorter exposure t imes, and c o l l o d i o n p o s i t i v e s pr inted on glass were e a s i l y developed, a l lowing a s i t t e r to c o l l e c t a completed product almost immediately. Such modi f icat ions as the t i n t y p e , produced on meta l , a lso became popular . Sturdy and cheaply produced, they were commonly used for simple p o r t r a i t s and to memorialize s o c i a l events.22 Many inventors struggled to re f ine the por t ra i t -making process, improving lenses and increasing the l i g h t - s e n s i t i v i t y of media. Innovations occurred in accordance with purposes. American survey crews needed to develop equipment which was l e s s unwieldy than that used in the c o l l o d i o n g l a s s - p l a t e process; photographers documenting bu i ld ing features required sharper lenses . Heavy equipment and lenses which created s o f t , f l a t t e r i n g images remained usefu l to por t ra i t -makers .23 i n order to survive economical -l y a 19th Century p ro fess iona l photographer was almost 7 i n e v i t a b l y o b l i g e d to turn out p o r t r a i t s , and to adopt procedures which emphasized beauty r a t h e r than accuracy. During the 18^0s, a German inventor developed a technique f o r r e - t o u c h i n g negatives which proved l u c r a t i v e : \"The news that the camera could l i e made g e t t i n g photographed much more popular. \"24-The p u b l i c put great f a i t h i n the v e r a c i t y of photo-graphs. Processes had been p a i n s t a k i n g l y devised by men who had intended, in Fox T a l b o t ' s words, to allow \" n a t u r a l images\" to reproduce themselves. A photographic r e c o r d , however, i s formed through humanly manufactured equipment and processes. Crowded s t r e e t s can seem empty; blemished faces can be made to appear unblemished. An image channelled through c a r e f u l l y ground g l a s s i s not n a t u r a l at a l l , nor does a photograph c r e a t e i t s e l f , as Fox Talbot had hoped. A debate raged, however, for decades: could a photographer be c a l l e d a c r e a t i v e a r t i s t , or did nature do the work alone? Not u n t i l the American photographer and c u r a t o r A l f r e d S t i e g l i t z fought at the turn of the century f o r p u b l i c r e c o g n i t i o n of photographic a r t i s t r y were camera operators considered capable of genius, r e v e a l i n g important and p r e v i o u s l y unperceived v i s u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . 2 5 Photographs are manufactured r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of the m a t e r i a l world, which u s u a l l y seem so r e a l that t h e i r aura of i m p a r t i a l i t y gives them unusual power. The world's f i r s t 8 photographer, Niepce, was not foo led : he l a b e l l e d them \"points de vue\" (points of view).26 v i s u a l l y and mental ly , they present the world from l i m i t e d stances. I t i s not yet commonly recognized, however, that photographic images are inf luenced by the techniques selected or adapted by t h e i r creators and are colored by the purposes leading to t h e i r product ion , purposes o r i g i n a t i n g in spheres ranging from ar t and science to commerce and the domestic realm. A var ie ty of s o c i a l purposes w i l l be discussed in Chapter Three. In the meantime, the powerful ways in which photographic information can be manipulated deserve c loser examination. 9 F o o t n o t e s C h a p t e r One 1 F r a n k B. E v a n s , D o n a l d F. H a r r i s o n , and Edwin A. Thompson, ed. W i l l i a m L. R o f e s , \"A B a s i c G l o s s a r y f o r A r c h i v i s t s , M a n u s c r i p t C u r a t o r s and R e c o r d s Managers,\" A m e r i c a n A r c h i v i s t 37 ( 1 9 7 4 ) : 427. 2 Susan S o n t a g , On P h o t o g r a p h y (New Y o r k : D e l l , 1977), p. 3. ^ The term \" p h o t o g r a p h i c \" was c o i n e d by 3ohn H e r s c h e l , an E n g l i s h i n v e n t o r , i n 1839. See T.R. S c h e 1 l e n b e r g , The Management o f A r c h i v e s (New Y o r k : C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1965), p. 323. ^ A.N. W h i t e h e a d , S c i e n c e and t h e Modern W o r l d . London: L o w e l l L e c t u r e S e r i e s , 1925. 5 Beaumont N e w h a l l , The H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y : From 1839 to t h e P r e s e n t Day, 7 t h ed. (New York: Museum o f Modern A r t , 1981), p. 11. 6 I b i d . 7 I b i d . , pp. 11-12. 8 I b i d . , pp. 12-14; P e t e r P o l l a c k , The P i c t u r e H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y : From t h e E a r l i e s t B e g i n n i n g s to t h e P r e s e n t Day (New Y o r k : H a r r y Abrams, 1958), pp. 16-18. 9 P e t e r W o l l h e i m , \" C r i t i c a l T r a d i t i o n s , \" Photo Communique 4 ( 1 9 8 2 ) : 7. 1° N e w h a l l , H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y , p. 14. 11 P o l l a c k , P i c t u r e H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y , pp. 19-22. 12 N e w h a l l , H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y , p. 7. 13 V i c k i G o l d b e r g , ed., P h o t o g r a p h y i n P r i n t : W r i t i n g s from 1816 t o t h e P r e s e n t (New Y o r k : Simon and S c h u s t e r , 1981), p. 31. 1^ N e w h a l l , H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y , pp. 16-22. 15 P o l l a c k , P i c t u r e H i s t o r y o f P h o t o g r a p h y , pp. 32-34. 16 S o n t a g , On P h o t o g r a p h y , p. 88. 10 17 N e w h a l l , H i s t o r y of Photography, pp. 31-32. 18 I b i d . , pp. 32- 33. 19 I b i d . , pp. 32- 34. 20 I b i d . , P- 41 . 21 I b i d . , P- 35. 22 I b i d . , pp. 35, 48-49. 23 i b i d . , pp. 28, 56-59. 24 Sontag, On Photography, p. 86. 25 see N e w h a l l , H i s t o r y of Photography, pp. 31 26 P o l l a c k , P i c t u r e H i s t o r y of Photography, p. 11 CHAPTER TWO THE POWER AND L I M I T A T I O N S OF THE MEDIUM U n l i k e r e c o r d s i n s e v e r a l o t h e r f o r m s , a t f i r s t g l a n c e a s t i l l p h o t o g r a p h s e e m s t o be t h e o u t c o m e o f an o b j e c t i v e p r o c e s s r a t h e r t h a n t h e r e s u l t o f human c h o i c e s . One c o m m e n t a t o r , R o l a n d B a r t h e s , d e f i n e s p h o t o g r a p h y a s a p r o d u c t o f t h e l a w s o f p h y s i c s ( i m a g e s f o r m e d t h r o u g h o p t i c a l d e v i c e s ) c o m b i n e d w i t h t h o s e o f c h e m i s t r y ( l i g h t a f f e c t i n g s u b s t a n c e s ) . ^ U s i n g s i m i l a r t e r m s , S u s a n S o n t a g c h a r a c t e r i z e s a p h o t o g r a p h i c r e c o r d a s \" s o m e t h i n g d i r e c t l y s t e n c i l l e d o f f t h e r e a l , l i k e a f o o t p r i n t . . . t h e r e g i s t e r i n g o f an e m i n a t i o n ( l i g h t w a v e s r e f l e c t e d by o b j e c t s ) . . . a m a t e r i a l v e s t i g e o f t h e o b j e c t . \" ^ B e c a u s e a p h o t o g r a p h i s c r e a t e d by a m e c h a n i c a l d e v i c e w h i c h s e e m s t o r e c o r d a u t o m a t i c a l l y e v e r y v i s u a l s u r f a c e w i t h i n i t s r a n g e , a v i e w e r u s u a l l y a s s i g n s i t a h i g h d e g r e e o f c r e d i b i l i t y . 3 S o n t a g r e m a r k s u p o n o u r e a s y b e l i e f i n t h e m e d i u m : P h o t o g r a p h s f u r n i s h e v i d e n c e . S o m e t h i n g we h e a r a b o u t , b u t d o u b t , s e e m s p r o v e n when w e ' r e s h o w n a p h o t o g r a p h o f i t . . . T h e p i c t u r e may d i s t o r t , b u t t h e r e i s a l w a y s a p r e s u m p t i o n t h a t s o m e t h i n g e x i s t s , o r d i d e x i s t , w h i c h i s l i k e w h a t ' s i n t h e p i c t u r e . ^ 12 A v i e w e r i s subdued b o t h by t h e a p p a r e n t a u t h e n t i c i t y of p h o t o g r a p h i c documents and by the o v e r w h e l m i n g q u a n t i t y of i n f o r m a t i o n which t h e y u s u a l l y p r e s e n t . Media c r i t i c M a r s h a l l McLuhan n o t e s t h a t p h o t o g r a p h s a r e g e n e r a l l y brimming w i t h d a t a , l e a v i n g l i t t l e room f o r knowledge to be s u p p l e m e n t e d by the v i e w e r . 5 B a r t h e s a r g u e s even more s t r o n g l y t h a t a p h o t o g r a p h \" f i l l s t h e s i g h t by f o r c e , \" o f f e r i n g messages which c a n n o t e a s i l y be r e f u s e d or t r a n s f o r m e d . ^ Because p h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r e s e r v e d o u t s i d e o f i t s o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t , c h a l l e n g i n g the d a t a d e l i v e r e d can be a f o r m i d a b l e t a s k . In most c a s e s , a moment p o r t r a y e d i s s i m p l y a c c e p t e d by an a u d i e n c e as the e s s e n t i a l one. To t h e r a r e o b s e r v e r who wonders about e v e n t s or o b j e c t s which might have been d i s t o r t e d or e x c l u d e d , avenues of r e s e a r c h a r e not a l w a y s open. The power o f p h o t o g r a p h s , one eminent p s y c h o l o g i s t s u g g e s t s , i s r o o t e d p r e c i s e l y i n the d i f f i c u l t y o f t h o u g h t f u l l y r e p u d i a t i n g them, even when the y have c a p t u r e d u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e moments. 7 P h o t o g r a p h y ' s p e r s u a s i v e power i s a l s o based upon i t s a b i l i t y t o a r o u s e our emotions.® Human judgment can e a s i l y be c l o u d e d by f e e l i n g . We a r e o f t e n g u i l t y of s e e i n g o n l y as much as we a r e w i l l i n g t o b e l i e v e , and of t o o r e a d i l y a c c e p t i n g messages framed i n an a e s t h e t i c a l l y a p p e a l i n g manner. \" P h o t o g r a p h s a r e c o m p e l l i n g p a r t l y b e c a u s e o f t h e i r c o m p o s i t i o n - l i k e p a i n t i n g s ; \" and, s i n c e t h e medium was 13 f i r s t adopted, ser ious a r t i sans have attempted to apply a r t i s t i c ru les of composition to photography in order to achieve p i c t o r i a l e f f e c t s . 9 Fox Ta lbot , for instance , d e l i b e r a t e l y out l ined h is domestic scenes using the \" p a i n t e r ' s eye\" defined by contemporary Dutch a r t i s t s . 1 ° Susan Sontag asserts that the en t i re h i s to ry of photography can, in f a c t , be seen as a struggle between two c o n f l i c t i n g impulses: b e a u t i f i c a t i o n and t r u t h - t e l l i n g . H D e f i n i t i o n s of t r u t h , of course, vary w i l d l y . To peddle t h e i r own moral or p o l i t i c a l points of view in a t t r a c t i v e terms, documentary photographers r e g u l a r l y beaut i fy t h e i r sub jects : Even when photographers are most concerned with mi r ror ing r e a l i t y , they are s t i l l haunted by t a c i t imperatives of taste and conscience. The immensely g i f t e d members of the Farm Secur i ty Adminis t rat ion photo-graphic pro ject of the l a t e 1930s (sponsored by the Roosevelt government) would take dozens of f r o n t a l p ic tures of one of t h e i r sharecropper subjects u n t i l s a t i s f i e d that they had gotten jus t the r i g h t look on f i l m - the prec ise expression on the sub jec t ' s face that supported t h e i r own notions about poverty, l i g h t , d i g n i t y , tex ture , e x p l o i t a t i o n and geometry.12 To create successfu l images c o n s i s t e n t l y , photographers become consciously or unconsciously adept at manipulating elements and dynamics w i th in the confines of a v i e w - f i n d e r . Many c r i t i c s of the medium charge that photographs lack syntax, s t a t i n g that elements and organ izat iona l formats a r e n o t r o u t i n e l y a p p l i e d . 1 3 I n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t E s t e l l e O u s sim a r g u e s , h o w e v e r , t h a t e v e r y means o f s y m b o l i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n has some s y n t a c t i c a l s t r u c t u r e , i n c o r p o r a t i n g c u l t u r a l l y a p p r o v e d c o d e s . 1 ^ A r c h i v i s t Hugh T a y l o r a l s o p o i n t s o u t t h a t , w h i l e a r t i s t s do d e l i b e r a t e l y d e v e l o p s c h e m a t i c e l e m e n t s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f us r e m a i n unaware o f t h e c o n v e n t i o n s u s e d i n v i s u a l m e d i a . He recommends t h a t we l e a r n t o r e c o g n i z e them, w a r n i n g t h a t we w i l l need t o l o o k l o n g and i n t e n t l y i n o r d e r t o become a d e p t a t d i s c e r n i n g t y p i c a l and i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e s . 1 - * I n a d d i t i o n t o a c h i e v i n g an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e s y n t a c t i c a l p a t t e r n s i n p h o t o g r a p h i c m e s s a g e s , more aware-n e s s o f t h e r e s t r i c t i o n s o f t h e medium i t s e l f i s n e e d e d . A p h o t o g r a p h i s a l i m i t e d r e c o r d . I t i s a r e f l e c t i o n o f a f i n i t e v i e w c a s t f o r a l i m i t e d t i m e p e r i o d t h r o u g h s e l e c t e d o p t i c a l e q u i p m e n t t o be p e r m a n e n t l y c a p t u r e d i n a c h o s e n l i g h t - s e n s i t i v e s u b s t a n c e . The s u b j e c t i v e c h o i c e s w h i c h must be made a b o u t e a c h o f t h e s e e l e m e n t s c l e a r l y a f f e c t t h e document p r o d u c e d . To b e g i n w i t h , any g l a s s l e n s d i s t o r t s an image b e i n g r e f l e c t e d . A t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l w o r l d s i m p l y c a n n o t be a c c u r a t e l y r e p r o d u c e d on a t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l p l a n e . 1 6 ( O n l y t h r o u g h h o l o g r a p h y can s p a t i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s be c o r r e c t l y p o r t r a y e d ) . 1 7 i n t h e s e l e c t i o n o f l e n s e s , ample o p p o r t u n i t y f o r d e l i b e r a t e d i s t o r t i o n e x i s t s . Wide a n g l e l e n s e s , f o r e x a m p l e , a r e commonly u s e d by a d v e r t i s e r s t o 15 exaggerate the s i z e of merchandise. In the exposure of f i l m to l i g h t , t h e r e i s a l s o much room f o r m a n i p u l a t i o n . The l i g h t a v a i l a b l e when a photograph i s taken can c r e a t e a f a l s e i m p r e s s i o n of a scene. For example, f l a s h b u l b l i g h t p r o j e c t e d a s h o r t d i s t a n c e can f l a t t e r the f o r e g r o u n d of s e t t i n g w h i l e e l i m i n a t i n g the background, making the l a t t e r seem dark and empty.18 In a d d i t i o n , p h o t o g r a p h i c p r o c e s s e s cannot r e c o n s t r u c t c o l o r r e l a t i o n s h i p s a u t h e n t i c a l l y : c o l o r i s e i t h e r l o s t through b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e p r o c e s s e s or i n a d e q u a t e l y s i m u l a t e d through the use of dyes.1^ On f i l m s which are too s e n s i t i v e to c e r t a i n c o l o r waves, p o r t i o n s of a scene d e p i c t e d might d i s a p p e a r a l t o g e t h e r . R i c h a r d Huyda p o i n t s to the l e n g t h y l i g h t exposures and extreme s e n s i t i v i t y to the blue end of the c o l o r spectrum i n h e r e n t i n the wet c o l l o d i o n p r o c e s s , which p r e v e n t s , f o r example, the r e g i s t r a t i o n of both g e o g r a p h i c a l f e a t u r e s and c l o u d s on one n e g a t i v e . During the time taken to i m p r i n t such f e a t u r e s as mountains onto a wet p l a t e , a b l u e sky w i l l have whitened r e l e v a n t p a r t s of the medium, making the sky and any e x i s t i n g w h i t e c l o u d s i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e i n the completed p r i n t . 2 0 Development t e c h n i q u e s a l s o i n f l u e n c e p h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n . The d i f f e r e n c e s between high and l o w - c o n t r a s t p r i n t i n g papers a f f e c t the c l a r i t y of images. A g a i n , scope f o r m a n i p u l a t i o n e x i s t s , i n c l u d i n g the o p p o r t u n i t y f o r 16 construct ion of out r ight l i e s - by combining, for example, two negative exposures to form one p o s i t i v e p r i n t . Along with i t s i n a b i l i t y to depict the s p a t i a l world p r e c i s e l y , s t i l l photography cannot adequately present the passage of t ime. For ins tance , to catch only a f l e e t i n g smile during an otherwise sad event would be to misrepresent the evo l v ing , complicated nature of the occasion.21 s ing le moments seized as i n d i c a t i v e of changing r e a l i t i e s are at best incomplete; at worst , they are downright f a l s e . A grimace- could i n c o r r e c t l y appear in p r i n t as a smi le , or a ser ies of occurrences could be d e l i b e r a t e l y or inadvertent -l y presented in incor rec t order . Because a photographer must make many dec is ions about the u t i l i z a t i o n of space and t ime, a photograph which has been consciously created can be nothing other than a subject ive document, \"not just a record but an evaluat ion of the world.\"22 In l i g h t of the ways in which photographs can be u n t r u t h f u l , t h e i r v a l i d i t y depends u l t i m a t e l y , as photo-graphic a r c h i v i s t Jer ry Davison observes, upon photograph-e r s ' in tent ions .23 Photography, l i k e language, i s a medium from which many works can be wrought, from X-Rays to an a r t i s t ' s impressions of Par i s .24 Purposes range from the i d e a l i z a t i o n of fami ly r e l a t i o n s h i p s to the denigrat ion of power s t ruc tu res ; from the manipulation of co lor to the ce lebrat ion of form. I n t e l l e c t u a l points of view can be as 17 d i v e r s e as t h o s e o f V i c t o r i a n m o r a l i s t s and t h e a n g r y c h r o n i c l e r s o f t h e D e p r e s s i o n . D o c u m e n t a r y p h o t o g r a p h e r R o b e r t F r a n k a d m i t s t h a t b i a s c a n n o t be a v o i d e d : \" I have been f r e q u e n t l y a c c u s e d o f d e l i b e r a t e l y t w i s t i n g s u b j e c t m a t t e r t o my p o i n t o f v i e w . . . ( b u t ) l i f e f o r a p h o t o g r a p h e r c a n n o t be a m a t t e r o f i n d i f f e r e n c e . \"25 B e c a u s e no p e r s o n can p e r c e i v e e v e r y a s p e c t o f a g i v e n s u b j e c t , t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h a p h o t o g r a p h e r has been h o n e s t and c o m p r e h e n s i v e c a n o n l y be e s t a b l i s h e d t h r o u g h r e s e a r c h . W i t h e x p e r i e n c e and l u c k , an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e aims and methods o f a c r e a t o r can be r e a c h e d . Upon c l o s e s t u d y o f a g r o u p o f r e c o r d s , p a t t e r n s a r e c e r t a i n t o emerge, b e c a u s e no s e t o f p h o t o g r a p h s i s c r e a t e d r a n d o m l y . As Beaumont N e w h a l l p u t s i t , a good p h o t o g r a p h s o m e t i m e s happens by c h a n c e , b u t s u c c e s s f u l p h o t o g r a p h e r s a r e n o t a c c i d e n t a l l y made.26 The manner i n w h i c h a c o l l e c t i o n o f r e c o r d s i s o f f e r e d f o r v i e w i n g by a p h o t o g r a p h e r , an e d i t o r , o r a c o l l e c t o r a l s o d e s e r v e s e x a m i n a t i o n . B e c a u s e a p h o t o g r a p h p r e s e n t s a moment removed f r o m i t s o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t , i t must be c a p t i o n e d i n o r d e r t o have m e a n i n g . 2 7 N 0 s n a p s h o t , f r o m a news p h o t o g r a p h t o a p o r t r a i t f r o m a f a m i l y a l b u m , can be u n d e r s t o o d w i t h o u t v e r b a l e x p l a n a t i o n , and t h e l a b e l s a s s i g n e d w i l l a l w a y s i n f l u e n c e an a u d i e n c e ' s p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e document. J o h n B r u m f i e l d s u g g e s t s t h a t a c a p t i o n r e a d i n g \"Cow F o r S a l e \" p l a c e d b e n e a t h a p i c t u r e o f a meadow w o u l d 18 l e a d o u r e y e s t o t h e a n i m a l i n t h e c e n t r e o f t h e s c e n e , w h e r e a s \" Y o s e m i t e V a l l e y \" w o u l d g u i d e us t o t h e m o u n t a i n s i n t h e b a c k g r o u n d . 28 V e r b a l d e s c r i p t i o n s , o f c o u r s e , can be b l a t a n t l y u n t r u e . The i m p r e s s i o n c a u s e d by a s e t o f p h o t o -g r a p h s can a l s o be f a l s i f i e d t h r o u g h t h e i r a r r a n g e m e n t . 2 9 C h r o n o l o g i c a l e l e m e n t s o f a p u b l i s h e d \" p h o t o s t o r y \" , f o r i n s t a n c e , c o u l d be l a i d o u t i n i n c o r r e c t o r d e r . I n a d d i t i o n , S u s a n S o n t a g c a u t i o n s t h a t t h e m o r a l and e m o t i o n a l w e i g h t o f a s t i l l p h o t o g r a p h w i l l s h i f t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t s i n w h i c h i t i s s e e n . 3 0 An image meant t o a r o u s e o u t r a g e w i l l be i n e f f e c t i v e w i t h o u t \"an a p p r o p r i a t e c o n t e x t f o r r e c e i v i n g i t . \"31 B e c a u s e o f e x i s t i n g p u b l i c p r e j u d i c e s , d e p i c t i o n s o f i n t e r n e d J a p a n e s e A m e r i c a n s and C a n a d i a n s w h i c h were p u b l i s h e d t o g e n e r a t e c o n c e r n d u r i n g t h e 1940s d i d n o t a f f r o n t many p e o p l e . R i c h a r d Huyda s u m m a r i z e s : \" E v e r y p h o t o -g r a p h i s a l t e r e d i n some manner by t h e i n t e n t i o n o f t h e c r e a t o r , t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a p p a r a t u s , t h e f i l m , t h e p r o c e s s i n g and p r i n t i n g , and t h e u n i q u e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e p h o t o g r a p h by each v i e w e r . \"32 I n s p i t e o f i t s l i m i t a t i o n s , p h o t o g r a p h y i s an i n v a l u a b l e medium. P h o t o g r a p h i c documents l e n d t h e m s e l v e s t o e x a m i n a t i o n and l e a r n i n g , k e e p i n g open f o r s c r u t i n y an i n s t a n t w h i c h t h e f l o w o f t i m e n o r m a l l y r e p l a c e s i m m e d i a t e -l y . 3 3 i t c a n n o t be d e n i e d t h a t t h e e x t e r n a l w o r l d d o e s , t o some e x t e n t , p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e m a k i n g o f a p h o t o g r a p h , nor 19 that , during the past century, we have indeed been \" p r i v i l e g e d to look the past in the eye.\"34 we should not fo rget , however, that photographs do not reproduce r e a l i t y p r e c i s e l y . Unl ike f o o t p r i n t s , they are not records which have been created d i r e c t l y by the objects which they represent . Resul t ing from l i g h t waves manipulated by manufactured equipment and human techniques, they can only be f a c s i m i l e s posing as o r i g i n a l s . As h i s t o r i a n Barry O'Connell warns us, to remain u n c r i t i c a l of photographic images, and to bel ieve that they \"simply give us the world as i t i s , \" i s to be he lp less before them.35 20 Footnotes Chapter Two 1 Roland Barthes, Camera Luc ida : Ref lec t ions on Photography, t rans . Richard Howard (New York: H i l l and Wang, 1981; Toronto: McGraw-Hil l Ryerson, 1981), p. 91. 2 Sontag, On Photography, p. 154. 3 Stanley Milgram, \"The Image Freezing Machine.\" Psychology Today 10 (1977) 52, c i t e d by J . Robert Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye: The H i s t o r i a n ' s Use of Photographs,\" B.C. Studies no. 52 (1982): 18. 4 Sontag, On Photography, p. 5. 5 Marshal l McLuhan, Understanding Media (New York, Toronto and London: McGraw-Hil l Book Co . , 1964), p. 22. 6 Barthes, Camera Luc ida , p. 91 7 Milgram, c i t e d by Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye,\" p. 18. 8 G ise le Freund, Photography and Society (Boston: D.R. Godine, 1980), p. 217. 9 Sontag, On Photography, p. 107; Newhall , History of Photography, p. 61. 10 Newhall , H istory of Photography, p. 34 H Sontag, On Photography, p. 86. 12 I b i d . , p. 6. 197 13 see, for example, McLuhan, Understanding Media, p. 14 E s t e l l e Jussim, \"The Research uses of V i sua l Information,\" L ibrary Trends 25 (1977): 300, 306. 15 Hugh Tay lor , \"Documentary Art and the Role of the A r c h i v i s t , \" American A r c h i v i s t 42 (1979): 420-427. 16 Claude Minotto , The A r c h i v i s t and the Photograph: An Image That Holds (Ottawa: Canadian H i s t o r i c a l Assoc ia -t i o n , 1974): p. 46 -4 . 1 7 Richard Huyda, \"Photographs and Archives in 21 Canada,\" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978): 12. 1 8 Newhall , H istory of Photography, p. 158. 1 9 I b i d . , pp. 193-94. 2 0 Huyda, \"Photographs and Arch ives , \" p. 12. 21 I b i d . 22 sontag, On Photography, p. 88. 23 Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye,\" p. 20. 24 sontag, On Photography, p. 148 25 Goldberg, Photography in P r i n t , p. 401. 26 Newhall , H istory of Photography, p. 178. 27 i b i d . , pp. 182-183. 28 John Brumf ie ld , \"A good milk cow i s not a h e l i c o p t e r , and that i s a f a c t , \" Photo Communique 2 (1980): p. 32. 2 9 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , p. 149. 30 sontag, On Photography, p . . 1 0 5 . 31 i b i d . , p. 17. 32 Huyda, \"Photographs and Arch ives , \" p. 12. 33 sontag, On Photography, p. 111. 34 Paul Theroux, \"The Past Recaptured,\" Foreword to Margaret Luke, e d . , The World As I t Was (New York: Summit Books, 1980), p. 10, c i t e d by Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye,\" p. 17. 35 Barry O 'Connel l , \"The Photograph as a Source for Publ ic H i s t o r y , \" Amherst, Massachusetts, 1977. Unpublished manuscript (Mimeographed). years. Photographic information held on m e t a l l i c p lates or on other bases could be dupl icated on the pr inted page only through labor ious hand t ransfer to a publ ish ing medium. As a r e s u l t , photographs were seen only ra re l y in newspapers and magazines. Eventual ly a process was invented which allowed the i r mechanical reproduction on the same press as type. By the 1880s they could automat ica l ly be scanned according to area d e n s i t i e s , t ransferred to telegraph wi res , communicated qu ick l y over long d i s tances , and e a s i l y reconstructed in great quant i t y .4 The incorporat ion of photography into journal ism had profound s o c i a l consequences. Using st reaml ined, portable cameras, bands of p ro fess iona l photographers formed qu ick l y to present a mixture of sensat ional ism ( r a i l r o a d acc idents , for example) and glamour ( c e l e b r i t y p o r t r a i t s ) to the masses.5 La te r , images were coupled on equal terms with verbal reports in \"photo s t o r i e s \" b u i l t around c a r e f u l l y chosen themes.6 To produce features for L i f e magazine, for ins tance , a journal which was f i r s t published in 1936, ed i to rs and photographers worked together, determining both v i s u a l and tex tua l po ints of view before a s ing le p ic tu re was ever snapped. 7 The world which L i f e pa ins tak ing ly constructed contained l i g h t , hope and a minimum of shadow. Everyday l i v e s were described alongside those of c e l e b r i t i e s . In an i n d u s t r i a l i z e d , standardized s o c i e t y , 22 CHAPTER THREE OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL PRODUCTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS IN MODERN SOCIETIES In modern i n d u s t r i a l i z e d s o c i e t i e s l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of p h o t o g r a p h s a r e p r o d u c e d o f f i c i a l l y (by c h a r t e r e d o r g a n i z a -t i o n s ) and u n o f f i c i a l l y f o r a m u l t i t u d e o f p u r p o s e s . The medium was born i n t o a w o r l d i n which the p r o d u c t i o n of goods i s m e c h a n i z e d and o r g a n i z e d on a b r o a d s c a l e , and i n which i n f o r m a t i o n must be d i s s e m i n a t e d on an e q u a l l y b r o a d b a s i s . V a s t amounts of d a t a must be communicated t o m a i n t a i n o r d e r , to e x p l o i t r e s o u r c e s e f f i c i e n t l y , and t o i n f l u e n c e the c o n s u m p t i o n o f p r o d u c t s . 1 R e p e a t a b i l i t y , the c o r e o f the m e c h a n i c a l p r i n c i p l e which i s t y p i c a l of any i n d u s t r i a l e n d e a v o r , has c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n f i e l d d u r i n g t h e p a s t few c e n t u r i e s . ^ E a r l y i n t h e h i s t o r y of the p h o t o -g r a p h i c i n d u s t r y , i n v e n t o r s d e v i s e d methods whereby an u n l i m i t e d number of p o s i t i v e p r i n t s c o u l d be r e p e a t e d from one n e g a t i v e image. The d e v e l o p m e n t o f p r i n t s soon became a s c i e n c e , w i t h f i l m e x p o s u r e s t i m e d by s t o p w a t c h e s and w i t h l a b o u r e f f i c i e n t l y d i v i d e d i n p h o t o - f i n i s h i n g f a c t o r i e s to f a c i l i t a t e mass p r o d u c t i o n . 3 D i s s e m i n a t i o n of v i s u a l images on a l a r g e s c a l e , however, r e m a i n e d d i f f i c u l t f o r many 24 L i f e and i t s counterparts d e l i b e r a t e l y attempted to convince the i r readers that i n d i v i d u a l s mattered; and that hard work and ta len t would always be rewarded.8 J o u r n a l i s t i c photographs bombarded the pub l i c in increas ing numbers. The messages created r e f l e c t e d the perspect ive of the i n d u s t r i a l establ ishment, which financed t h e i r c r e a t i o n . Working through an adver t i s ing system which was the most c r u c i a l factor in the success of major p u b l i c a -t i o n s , some magazine owners admitted o u t r i g h t l y that they hoped to s e l l phi losophies along with consumer goods. 9 in contrast to t h e i r independence during previous decades, by the 1930s newspaper and magazine publ ishers no longer cont ro l led t h e i r own work, report ing now to t h e i r a d v e r t i s -ing c l i e n t s . Because adver t i s ing revenue had become the major source of p r o f i t for newspapers and jou rna ls , t h e i r ed i to rs and publ ishers were forced to regard readers as . consumers, ensuring that a r t i c l e s and e d i t o r i a l commentary did not a f f ron t a d v e r t i s e r s ' ideology.10 A consumer s o c i e t y , wr i tes Susan Sontag, requires \"a cu l ture based on images . \"H Through photography the owners of i n d u s t r i a l and of communication networks were e a s i l y able to fashion a world of images in t h e i r own i n t e r e s t s . The medium, notes G ise le Freund, can be an unusually valuable and even dangerous too l when i t i s used to create needs, s e l l goods and mold minds.12 25 Photography can a lso be a dangerous too l when i t i s wielded by governments. Many of i t s ear ly o f f i c i a l a p p l i c a -t ions seemed innocuous enough: the French government, for example, employed talbotypes to record d i s t i n c t i v e features of her i tage b u i l d i n g s . 1 3 G l o r i f i c a t i o n of the French empire, admit tedly , was one of i t s aims. In North America, during the middle of the nineteenth century, photographers depicted not only b u i l d i n g s , land and l i f e on the home f r o n t , but were included in government-sponsored expedit ions which surveyed f r o n t i e r a r e a s . 1 4 other aims were to record unusual events and to document ownership of property . In Canada, government agencies have rou t ine l y f i l e d o f f i c i a l l y - p r o d u c e d photographs from the 1850s on.15 In every modern n a t i o n , government agencies have a lso used the medium for the su rve i l l ance of c i t i z e n s . Since a round-up of revo lu t ionar ies in Par i s in 1871, when policemen took snapshots of Communards who were l a t e r i d e n t i f i e d and shot with weapons of a d i f f e r e n t nature, photography has been a too l for monitoring inc reas ing ly mobile populat ions.16 Another less - than- innocuous purpose has been the use of photographs to disseminate propaganda. In Canada, for example, both the . federa l Department of Immigration and Canadian P a c i f i c Railway sent glowing views of the p r a i r i e 26 u n d e r t a k e n was t h e i d e a l i z a t i o n o f D e p r e s s i o n - e r a f a r m w o r k -e r s by t h e f e d e r a l Farm S e c u r i t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , whose a r c h i v e s s t i l l c o n s t i t u t e s t h e l a r g e s t g r o u p of d o c u m e n t a r y p h o t o g r a p h s e v e r a s s e m b l e d on t h i s c o n t i n e n t . Roy S t r y k e r , t h e c o - o r d i n a t o r of t h e p r o j e c t , r e c o g n i z e d t h a t i m a g e s c o u l d be s u b t l y m a n i p u l a t e d t o e f f e c t i v e l y c o n v e y any c h o s e n message.1® H o p i n g t o g a i n t h e s u p p o r t o f a m i d d l e - c l a s s a u d i e n c e , he c o a c h e d h i s team o f p h o t o g r a p h e r s t o p a i n t a p o r t r a i t o f A m e r i c a ' s i m p o v e r i s h e d r u r a l c i t i z e n s as u n i f o r m l y d i g n i f i e d and h a r d - w o r k i n g . 1 9 A p p l y i n g t h e medium t o g o a l s v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m s u r v e i l l a n c e and i m a g e - m a k i n g , modern s o c i e t i e s now g e n e r a t e g r e a t q u a n t i t i e s o f p h o t o g r a p h s f o r s c i e n t i f i c and m e d i c a l r e s e a r c h . A c c o r d i n g t o M a r s h a l l McLuhan, b e f o r e t h e d e v e l o p -ment o f p h o t o g r a p h y , s c i e n t i s t s l a c k e d a d e q u a t e n o n - v e r b a l means o f t r a n s m i t t i n g k n o w l e d g e . Greek and Roman b o t a n i s t s , f o r i n s t a n c e , were f r u s t r a t e d i n t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o c o n v e y i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t p l a n t s q u i c k l y and a c c u r a t e l y . McLuhan p o i n t s o u t t h a t i t i s v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o d e s c r i b e v e r b a l l y t h e a t t r i b u t e s o f e ven s u c h a s i m p l y o b j e c t as a b u c k e t . The d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p r i n t i n g p r e s s d i d a l l o w q u i c k r e p r o d u c t i o n o f p a i n s t a k i n g l y s k e t c h e d i m a g e s . The camera has s i n c e become an i n d i s p e n s a b l e i n s t r u m e n t t o r e s e a r c h e r s , p r o v i d i n g w o r k a b l e v i s u a l d e s c r i p t i o n s q u i c k l y . 2 0 I t has been u s e d f o r s c i e n t i f i c p u r p o s e s s i n c e i t s c o n c e p t i o n : one 27 of i t s inventors , Wi l l iam Henry Fox Ta lbot , was the f i r s t s c i e n t i s t to record botan ica l specimens photographica l ly .21 Another photographer, Edward Muybridge, took advantage of the camera's a b i l i t y to r e g i s t e r mater ia l phenomena which the human eye cannot see, capturing a horse at several stages of ga l lop to determine whether a l l four of i t s feet l e f t the ground at once. Today, through the use of stroboscopic l i g h t s , the pub l i c i s able to view such wonders as hummingbird wings moving at high speed and tennis players swinging.22 S c i e n t i s t s have become so dependent upon photo-graphy that progress in many f i e l d s would be impossible without i t . To prove the existence of subatomic p a r t i c l e s , for .example, the only tangible records which a nuclear p h y s i c i s t can o f f e r us are the t racks of l i g h t which the p a r t i c l e s have l e f t on f i l m as they passed over i t for amazingly b r i e f moments.23 Medical researchers have a lso r e l i e d upon photographic processes for many decades. In order to improve the design of a r t i f i c i a l l imbs , in 1863 one p h y s i c i a n , O l i ve r Wendell Holmes (physic ian and photographer), s c r u t i n i z e d stereoscopic p r i n t s of people in motion.24 s ince then, standard medical equipment has come to include photographic uni ts which are s e n s i t i v e to X-Rays beyond the range of normal s i g h t , along with cameras attached to e lect ron microscopes used to scan organs.25 Photography i s now the primary too l in the i n v e s t i g a -28 t i o n o f much p h y s i o l o g i c a l a c t i v i t y and p s y c h o l o g i c a l b e h a v i o r . U s i n g h i d d e n c a m e r a s t o d i s c o v e r t h e s u b t l e d i f f e r e n c e s between p r o s e c u t o r s ' t r e a t m e n t o f b l a c k and w h i t e d e f e n d a n t s i n A m e r i c a n c o u r t r o o m s i s one e x a m p l e o f f e r e d by E s t e l l e O u s s i m . She adds t h a t s t u d e n t s o f t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s a r e now r e g u l a r l y a s k e d t o u t i l i z e c a m e r a s i n r e c o r d i n g and a n a l y z i n g t h e b e h a v i o r o f t h e i r s u b j e c t s . 2 6 P h o t o g r a p h y has h e l p e d humankind d i s c o v e r i t s e l f and has e x t e n d e d t h e l i m i t s o f o u r k n o w l e d g e o f t h e p h y s i c a l w o r l d . P h o t o g r a p h i c p l a t e s c o a t e d w i t h s e n s i t i v e e m u l s i o n s and a t t a c h e d t o t e l e s c o p e s f o r l o n g t i m e - p e r i o d s have r e v e a l e d p r e v i o u s l y u n c h a r t e d g a l a x i e s . 2 7 S i n c e 1856, when Hadar p a t e n t e d t h e i d e a o f t a k i n g p h o t o g r a p h s f r o m a i r b a l l o o n s f o r use i n mapmaking, a e r i a l p h o t o g r a p h y has a l l o w e d us t o s u r v e y o u r own p l a n e t . 2 8 U s i n g c a m e r a s , we can w a t c h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f eye and m u s c l e c o - o r d i n a t i o n i n h a n d i c a p p e d c h i l d r e n . 29 P h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n i s u s e f u l t o s p i e s , m e t e o r o l o g i s t s and c o r o n e r s . ^ u V i c k i G o l d b e r g p o i n t s o u t t h a t news, f a s h i o n , s u r v e i l l a n c e and p r o p a g a n d a i m a g e s can a l s o p o w e r f u l l y a f f e c t t h e manner i n w h i c h we e a t , d r e s s , v o t e and t h i n k . 3 1 As v a l u a b l e as t h e medium can be, we must be f o r e v e r m i n d f u l o f t h e p u r p o s e s b e h i n d t h e m e s s a g e s . T u r n i n g f r o m t h e p u b l i c t o t h e p r i v a t e s p h e r e , t h e i m p a c t o f p h o t o g r a p h y i s no l e s s i m p r e s s i v e . Cameras p e r v a d e 29 modern s o c i e t i e s : a l m o s t e v e r y h o u s e h o l d has one. W i t h t h e m a n u f a c t u r e i n 1888 by George Eastman o f t h e e a s i l y - o p e r a t e d Kodak, a m a t e u r p h o t o g r a p h e r s became, and have r e m a i n e d , t h e l a r g e s t s o u r c e o f s u p p o r t f o r a h e a l t h y p h o t o g r a p h i c i n d u s t r y . Most o f t h e s i x b i l l i o n p h o t o g r a p h s t a k e n a n n u a l l y i n N o r t h A m e r i c a a r e s n a p s h o t s made f o r p r i v a t e p u r p o s e s . 3 2 To s n a p s h o o t e r s , by d e f i n i t i o n m a k i n g q u i c k p h o t o g r a p h -i c r e c o r d s o f t h e i r s u r r o u n d i n g s , t h e b a s i c r e q u i r e m e n t o f t h e medium i s s i m p l y t h a t i t r e n d e r s u b j e c t s r e c o g n i z a b l y . 3 3 Time i s r a r e l y t a k e n t o compose a e s t h e t i c a l l y p l e a s i n g i m a g e s , a l t h o u g h many i n d i v i d u a l s a r e d i s a p p o i n t e d when t h e i r d e v e l o p e d p r i n t s o f t e n f a i l t o match t h e a p p e a l o f t h o s e c r a f t e d by p r o f e s s i o n a l s . A l t h o u g h t h e i r aims a r e s e l d o m a r t i c u l a t e d , a m a t e u r p h o t o g r a p h e r s g e n e r a l l y hope t o c r e a t e i d e a l i z e d i m a g e s o f t h e m s e l v e s and t h e i r i m m e d i a t e w o r l d s . 3^ S i n c e a m a t e u r s f i r s t a d o p t e d t h e c a m e r a , t h e s u b j e c t s o f t h e i r p h o t o g r a p h s have r e m a i n e d r e m a r k a b l y t h e same. P o r t r a i t s have a l w a y s been e x t r e m e l y p o p u l a r . I n a d d i t i o n , as G eorge Eastman o b s e r v e d o f h i s c u s t o m e r s i n 1892, t h e p u b l i c has l o n g f a v o r e d memoranda o f p e r s o n a l l i v e s and t r a v e l s . 3 5 A r c h i v i s t R i c h a r d Huyda c o n f i r m s t h e p a t t e r n : p r i v a t e c o l l e c t i o n s s t o r e d i n a r c h i v a l r e p o s i t o r i e s u s u a l l y c o n t a i n l i k e n e s s e s o f f a m i l y members, a l o n g w i t h v i e w s o f p l a c e s b o t h f a m i l i a r and e x o t i c . 3 6 Cameras have a l s o l o n g 30 been incorporated into many s o c i a l r i t u a l s . In contemporary c u l t u r e s , we rou t ine l y photograph the newly-born and the newly-wed. Unl ike our V i c t o r i a n ancestors , however, we do not treasure images of the newly-dead.37 we document ownership of expensive possessions (cars , boats and homes) and note unusual events (par t ies and ceremonies). Almost never do we photograph the mundane a c t i v i t i e s which form the basis of our d a i l y l i v e s (ourselves at b reakfast , for example). Throughout the past century, the subjects represented in p r i va te c o l l e c t i o n s have changed r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e because our l i v e s have fundamentally a l te red so l i t t l e . Photography and i n d u s t r i a l i s m were born during the same e r a , and photographs have tended to r e f l e c t the p r i va te wounds caused by i n d u s t r i a l systems. L i v i n g w i th in s tandardized, impersonal s o c i a l environments, we struggle to assert our i n d i v i d u a l i t y , t r y ing to create favorable se l f - images by matching the photographs in commercial a d v e r t i s i n g . Our e f f o r t s are not always reassur ing , but p ic tures which are unfavorable can be e a s i l y d iscarded , whi le i d e a l i z e d depic t ions are r e a d i l y framed. In an image-mad consumer s o c i e t y , few of us can r e s i s t gathering f l a t t e r i n g snapshots of wedding tuxedos and t r o p i c a l vacat ions : \"It seems p o s i t i v e l y unnatural to t r a v e l for pleasure without taking a camera a long . Photographs w i l l o f f e r ind isputable evidence 31 t h a t t h e t r i p was m a d e . . . t h a t f u n was h a d . n : , a The medium i s u s e d t o c a s t f a v o r a b l e i m p r e s s i o n s n o t o n l y o f o u r s e l v e s , b u t o f o u r f a m i l i e s , b o t h i m m e d i a t e and e x t e n d e d : P h o t o g r a p h y becomes a r i t e o f f a m i l y l i f e j u s t when, i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l i z i n g c o u n t r i e s o f E u r o p e and A m e r i c a , t h e v e r y i n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e f a m i l y s t a r t s u n d e r -g o i n g r a d i c a l s u r g e r y . As t h a t c l a u s t r o -p h o b i c u n i t , t h e n u c l e a r f a m i l y , was b e i n g c a r v e d o u t o f a much l a r g e r f a m i l y a g g r e g a t e , p h o t o g r a p h y came a l o n g t o m e m o r i a l i z e , t o r e - s t a t e s y m b o l i c a l l y , t h e i m p e r i l e d c o n t i n u i t y and v a n i s h i n g e x t e n d -e d n e s s o f f a m i l y l i f e . Those g h o s t l y t r a c e s , p h o t o g r a p h s , s u p p l y t h e t o k e n p r e s e n c e o f t h e d i s p e r s e d r e l a t i v e s . A f a m i l y ' s p h o t o g r a p h a lbum i s g e n e r a l l y a b o u t t h e e x t e n d e d f a m i l y - a n d , o f t e n , i s a l l t h a t r e m a i n s o f i t . 3 9 Whether o r n o t t h e n u c l e a r f a m i l y i s i n d e e d a v e r y r e c e n t phenomenon, we c o l l e c t i v e l y b e l i e v e t h a t e x t e n d e d f a m i l i e s s h o u l d m a i n t a i n c l o s e t i e s and employ p h o t o g r a p h s t o s u g g e s t o u r c o n n e c t e d n e s s - o r , as D a v i d J a c o b s p u t s i t , t o \" a r r a n g e r e l a t i o n s \" among o u r s e l v e s . ^ 0 A n n u a l v i s i t s by c o u s i n s and i n - l a w s a r e d u l y r e c o r d e d . C o m p l i c a t e d p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n -s h i p s a r e g l o s s e d o v e r , and p o r t r a y e d as s t a t i c and i n v a r i a b l y p o s i t i v e : \" c l o s e \" c o u p l e s , \" s m i l i n g \" s i s t e r s . I n r e a l i t y , o f c o u r s e , we a r e n o t u n f a m i l i a r w i t h c o n f l i c t and c h a n g e . F a m i l y members must commonly l i v e g r e a t d i s t a n c e s a p a r t . We l a c k t h e c o n t i n u i t y s u p p l i e d by a n c e s t r a l homes 32 and t h e s o l i d i t y o f \" o l d f u r n i t u r e , g r a n d p a r e n t s ' p o t s and pans - t h e u s e d t h i n g s , warm w i t h g e n e r a t i o n s o f human t o u c h . \" F a m i l i a r w i t h d i s p o s a b l e o b j e c t s , we n e v e r t h e l e s s c l i n g t o p h o t o g r a p h s , \" f e a t h e r w e i g h t p o r t a b l e museums,\" c a r r y i n g them f r o m home t o home.^l P e o p l e r o b b e d o f t h e i r p a s t s make t h e most f e r v e n t p i c t u r e - t a k e r s , a r g u e s S u s a n S o n t a g , who adds t h a t a l m o s t e v e r y o n e l i v i n g i n an i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y i s o b l i g e d t o r e l i n q u i s h t o o much o f t h e p a s t . ^ 2 P h o t o g r a p h s , o f c o u r s e , a l l o w o n l y mock p o s s e s s i o n o f t i m e s gone by.^3 To t h e i r s u b j e c t s , t h e y o f f e r f a l s e m e m o r i e s , even c o u n t e r - m e m o r i e s , o v e r w h e l m i n g a s u b j e c t ' s own t h o u g h t s and m a i n t a i n i n g a p a s t w h i c h was i n f a c t s e e n o n l y by t h e camera o p e r a t o r . P h o t o g r a p h s a l s o c o n f e r f a l s e i m p o r t a n c e on i s o l a t e d moments. They \" d i s a r m j u d g m e n t \" and \" i n v i t e s e n t i m e n t a l i t y . \" ^ R o l a n d B a r t h e s b e l i e v e s t h a t we u s u a l l y r e g a r d them t e n d e r l y b e c a u s e we a r e s u b c o n s c i o u s l y aware o f t h e i r s u b j e c t s ' v u l n e r a b i l i t y a g a i n s t a f u t u r e w h i c h has a l r e a d y happened.^5 I n a s e n s i t i v e and p o p u l a r a u t o b i o g r a p h y , f i l m a c t r e s s L i v U l l m a n n i n a d v e r t e n t l y c o n f i r m s h i s t h e o r y . D w e l l i n g upon p o r t r a i t s o f h e r s e l f and her m o t h e r , she p e r c e i v e s t h e i r own m o r t a l i t y : S e e i n g p i c t u r e s o f Mamma when she was young makes me s a d . She i s l o v e l y , h er e y e s a r e happy and f u l l o f e x p e c t a t i o n . Why i s t i m e so m e r c i l e s s ? . . . I n a f r a m e d 33 photograph we l i n e up for p o s t e r i t y , next to other p ic tures in which we are i n f a n t s , f i v e - y e a r - o l d s , schoo lch i ld ren , b r ides . We stare out into space, never to e x i s t aga in . 46 Each one of us has gazed at personal photographs in an equal ly melancholy fash ion . Photographs, unfor tunate ly , assign undue importance to the past . Lef t a lone, our memories of past experiences w i l l gradual ly erode, leaving a wholesome o r i e n t a t i o n to the present and the fu ture . Barthes argues that photographs, on the other hand, have the power to i n h i b i t t ime's heal ing a b i l i t y , a l lowing \"something t e r r i b l e : the return of the d e a d . \" 4 7 By c o l l e c t i n g images of those dear to us and by subject ing ourselves to p o r t r a i t -makers, we sometimes r i s k self -damage. Marshal l McLuhan points out that we too w i l l i n g l y pose for p i c t u r e s , a l t e r i n g our postures and express ions.48 Roland Barthes also fee ls a g u i l t y sense of \"imposture\" when he knowingly adjusts h is behavior for a camera.49 Unl ike him, most of us pose unth ink ing ly , but equal ly uncomfortably, adopting conventional \"snapshot grammar\" - standing in malleable groups, for ins tance , with shorter people placed in the foreground, everyone looking d i r e c t l y at the photographer and ignoring the environment.5° Subconsciously, we hope to be immortalized in u n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y becoming p o s i t i o n s , under unusually f l a t t e r i n g l i g h t s . Our concern about the element of luck and the a b i l i t y of the photographer involved 34 c a u s e s us to s t i f f e n before the camera, \" f e a r i n g i t s d i s a p p r o v a l . \" 5 ^ In t r u t h , we f e a r the d i s a p p r o v a l of each o t h e r . As viewers, we can be c r i t i c a l . As photographers, we can be o v e r b e a r i n g and even p r e d a t o r y , o r g a n i z i n g r e l a t i v e s i n t o t i d y groups, a r r a n g i n g spouses i n t o a t t r a c t i v e p o s t u r e s so that they w i l l r e f l e c t w e l l upon us and t r y i n g to c a t c h f r i e n d s i n embarrassing d i s a r r a y . Photographers i n v a r i a b l y want something from t h e i r s u b j e c t s . They \"c o n v e r t the world i n t o a department s t o r e or museum-w i t h o u t - w a l l s i n which every s u b j e c t i s d e p r e c i a t e d i n t o an a r t i c l e of consumption or promoted i n t o an item f o r a e s t h e t i c a p p r e c i a t i o n . \"52 ^ s c o l l e c t o r s , Barthes complains, we would g l a d l y t r e a t him as an o b j e c t , c l a s s i f y him, f i l e him, s u b t l y m i s r e p r e s e n t him.53 Some p r i v a t e photographers move beyond the s o c i a l use of the camera, of c o u r s e . Many amateurs use the medium to d i s p l a y a r t i s t i c s e n s i b i l i t i e s , c a p t u r i n g s u n s e t s , w i l d -f l o w e r s and empty park benches. To l i m i t the i n f i n i t e range of s u b j e c t matter a v a i l a b l e , d e d i c a t e d h o b b y i s t s o f t e n s e t t l e upon themes. Some s e t themselves high aims as s c i e n t i s t s and o t h e r s as m o r a l i s t s , uncovering hidden t r u t h s , c o n s e r v i n g v a n i s h i n g p a s t s or making i n v e n t o r i e s of the world.54 while amateurs f r e q u e n t l y o u t l i n e t h e i r areas of i n t e r e s t , however, t h e i r reasons are r a r e l y d e f i n e d e x p l i c i t l y . Upon c l o s e s c r u t i n y of t h e i r work, many of the 35 p u r p o s e s o f p h o t o g r a p h e r s , c o l l e c t o r s and p o s i n g s u b j e c t s a r e n o t d i f f i c u l t t o a s c e r t a i n . Such p u r p o s e s d e s e r v e more o f o u r a t t e n t i o n . Whether o r n o t t h e o b s e r v a t i o n s o f G i s e l e F r e u n d , S u s a n S o n t a g , R o l a n d B a r t h e s and o t h e r c r i t i c s upon t h e s o c i a l a p p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e medium a r e a l w a y s v a l i d , we c o u l d n o t h e l p b u t b e n e f i t f r o m c l o s e i n d i v i d u a l s t u d y o f ou r own m o t i v e s i n so e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y e m b r a c i n g p h o t o g r a p h y . o 36 Footnotes Chapter Three 1 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , pp. 103, 141; Sontag, On Photography, p. 178. 2 McLuhan, Understanding Media, p. 159. 3 Newhall , H is tory of Photography, pp. 47, 92. 4 I b i d . , p. 175; Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , p. 103. 5 Newhal l , H i s to ry .o f Photography, pp. 154-156, 175; Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , pp. 103, 111. 6 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , pp. 115, 124. 7 Newhall , H is tory of Photography, pp. 183-184. 8 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , pp. 148-149. 9 I b i d . , p. 141. 1 0 I b i d . , p. 142. 11 Sontag, On Photography, p. 178. 12 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , pp. 103, 217. 13 Newhall , H istory of Photography, p. 41. See a l s o : Richard R u d i s i l l , Mi r ror Image: The Influence of the Daguerrotype on American Society (Albuquerque: Un ivers i ty of New Mexico Press , 1971), p. 116. 1 4 B i r r e l l and G r e e n h i l l , Canadian Photography, p. 84; Newhal l , H istory of Photography, pp. 72-76. 1 5 Huyda, \"Photographs and Arch ives , \" p. 5. 1 6 Freund, Photography and Soc ie ty , p. 105; Sontag, On photography, p. 5. 1 7 B i r r e l l and G r e e n h i l l , Canadian Photography, p. 143; Minotto , A r c h i v i s t and Photograph, p. 46 -5 . 1 8 Goldberg, Photography in P r i n t , p. 349. 1 9 Sontag, On Photography, p. 62. 37 2 0 McLuhan, Understanding Media, pp. 158, 192. 21 Newhall , H istory of Photography, p. 33. 22 i b i d . , p. 159. 23 McLuhan, Understanding Media, p. 192; Jussim, \"Research uses , \" p. 774. 24 Newhall , H is tory of Photography, p. 83. 25 i b i d . , p. 167; Jussim, \"Research uses ,\" p. 774. 26 Jussim, \"Research Uses,\" pp. 767-768. 2 7 Newhal l , H istory of Photography, p. 167. 28 Beaumont Newhall and Nancy Newhall , Masters of Photography (New York: A and W Pub l i shers , 1958), p. 32. 2 9 Jussim, \"Research Uses,\" p. 767. 30 sontag, On Photography, p. 22. 31 Goldberg, Photography in P r i n t , p. 21. 32 Newhal l , H istory of Photography, p. 89; Geoffrey James, \"Responding to Photographs,\" Ar ts Canada no. 192 (1974): p. 6. David Jacobs, \"Domestic Snapshots: Toward a Grammar of Mot ives ,\" Journal of American Culture 4 (1981): p. 3. 34 sontag, On photography, p. 28; Jacobs, \"Grammar,\" p. 3. 35 Newhall , H is tory of Photography, p. 94. 36 Huyda, \"Photographs and Arch i ves , \" p. 5. 37 James, \"Responding to Photographs,\" p. 6. 38 Sontag, On Photography, p. 9. 39 I b i d . > P. 8. 40 Jacobs, \"Grammar,\" p. 3. 41 Sontag, On Photography, p. 68. 38 42 I b i d . , P- 1 0 . 43 I b i d . , P- 1 6 7 . 44 I b i d . , P- 71 . ^ 5 B a r t h e s , C a m e r a L u c i d a , p p . 9 0 - 9 6 . ^ 6 L i v U l l m a n n , C h a n g i n g ( U . S . A . a n d C a n a d a : A l f r e d K n o p f , 1 9 7 6 ; B a n t a m e d i t i o n , 1 9 7 8 ) , p. 6 6 . ^7 B a r t h e s , C a m e r a L u c i d a , p. 9. ^ M c L u h a n , U n d e r s t a n d i n g M e d i a , p. 1 9 7 . ^ 9 B a r t h e s , C a m e r a L u d i c a , p. 1 1 . 5 0 C a c o b s , \" G r a m m a r , \" p . 3. 5 1 S o n t a g , On P h o t o g r a p h y , p. 8 5 . 5 2 I b i d . , p. 1 1 0 . 53 B a r t h e s , C a m e r a L u c i d a , p. 1 4 . 5 ^ S o n t a g , On P h o t o g r a p h y , p p . 5 6 - 5 9 . 39 CHAPTER FOUR ADMINISTRATIVE VALUE IN ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS The purposes and techniques of a photographer c l e a r l y determine the nature of the information contained in a photographic record . Using the preceding three chapters as a basis for understanding the importance of creators and circumstances of c r e a t i o n , the provenance (respect for the o r i g i n ) of a r c h i v a l photographs can now be examined. I t i s a sad comment upon the current state of a r c h i v a l ar t that among the custodians of photographs in Canadian r e p o s i t o r i e s there are few a r c h i v i s t s to be found. In the l i t e r a t u r e underlying t h i s p ro fess ion , i t has long been recognized that , in add i t ion to apprais ing scho la r l y and other va lues , one of the p r i n c i p a l funct ions of an a r c h i v i s t i s to protect the admin is t rat ive (and, in p a r t i c u l a r , the lega l ) value of the permanent records produced by o f f i c i a l o rgan i za t ions . ( O f f i c i a l organizat ions w i l l be defined here as corporate bodies or chartered organizat ions funct ioning for c l e a r l y del ineated purposes, inc lud ing governments, churches, businesses and labour unions) . Such respected B r i t i s h and American a r c h i v i s t s as H i l a r y Jenkinson, O l i ve r 40 Wendell Holmes and Margaret Cross'Norton have emphasized t h e i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to t h e i r c reat ing agencies.1 Unl ike other documents of permanent va lue , which may be gathered and made a v a i l a b l e by curators for pub l ic use, o f f i c i a l records are preserved by a r c h i v i s t s p r i m a r i l y for t h e i r benef i t to admin is t ra to rs , and only secondar i ly to other users .2 American t h e o r i s t s in p a r t i c u l a r have tended to make a useful d i s t i n c t i o n between \" a r c h i v i s t s \" as custodians consider ing both admin is t rat ive and other ( inc lud ing scho lar l y ) va lues , and \"curators\" whose only concern i s scho la r l y records.3 By whatever terms they are l a b e l l e d , a r c h i v i s t s and curators have an important d i f f e r e n c e : an a r c h i v i s t must protect the admin is t rat ive value of o f f i c i a l records. Because many documents created in the course of admin is t ra t i ve a c t i v i t y have l e g a l importance, i t i s v i t a l that custodians always handle them in a manner which does not impair t h e i r a d m i s s i b i l i t y as evidence in courts of l a w . 4 Canadian a r c h i v i s t s employed by governments and corporat ions , however, have yet to demonstrate a healthy regard for photographs of l e g a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . They fu nc t io n , in e f f e c t , as cu ra to rs . A survey of t h e i r published work y i e l d s few references to the serious admin is t rat ive uses of photography. In t h e i r d iscuss ion of the appra isa l process, d i f f e r e n t c r i t e r i a for records created u n o f f i c i a l l y and for 41 t h o s e g e n e r a t e d o f f i c i a l l y by o r g a n i z a t i o n s a r e r a r e l y e s t a b l i s h e d . T y p i c a l l y , b o t h t y p e s o f d ocuments a r e a s s e s s e d on t h e b a s i s o f s c h o l a r l y v a l u e a l o n e . As r e c o r d s i n n o n - t e x t u a l f o r m a r e u t i l i z e d i n c r e a s i n g l y i n t h e j u d i c i a l s p h e r e , more a t t e n t i o n must be g i v e n t o t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and l e g a l u s e s o f o f f i c i a l l y p r o d u c e d p h o t o g r a p h s . I n modern i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t i e s p h o t o g r a p h s a r e g e n e r a t e d i n g r e a t q u a n t i t y f o r a v a r i e t y o f o f f i c i a l and p r i v a t e p u r p o s e s . As i n d i c a t e d i n C h a p t e r T h r e e , t h e y r e c o r d s o c i a l g a t h e r i n g s and c a p t u r e a e s t h e t i c i m a g e s . They a r e p r o d u c e d by i n d u s t r y and g o v e r n m e n t f o r a d v e r t i s i n g , s u r v e i l l a n c e and s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h . The camera documents o w n e r s h i p o f p r o p e r t y and c o m m u n i c a t e s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t r o u t i n e and u n u s u a l e v e n t s . E n g i n e e r i n g p h o t o g r a p h s , f o r i n s t a n c e , s e r v e as p e r m a n e n t l e g a l r e c o r d s o f c o n s t r u c t i o n p r o j e c t s . Many p o l i c e d e p a r t m e n t s , as a n o t h e r e x a m p l e , r e g u l a r l y arm t h e i r o f f i c e r s w i t h c a m e r a s , u s i n g s t i l l and m o t i o n p i c t u r e s t o t r a i n p e r s o n n e l , t o make t r a f f i c s t u d i e s , t o f u r t h e r p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s and t o c o u n t e r c h a r g e s o f b r u t a l i t y by r e c o r d i n g a r r e s t s i n w h i c h s u s p e c t s o f f e r r e s i s t a n c e . ^ I n s p i t e o f t h e i r e x t e n s i v e a p p l i c a t i o n , p h o t o g r a p h s a r e c o n s i s t e n t l y m i s i n t e r p r e t e t e d , and a r e t o o r e a d i l y a c c e p t e d as a c c u r a t e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e m a t e r i a l w o r l d . As we have s e e n , a p h o t o g r a p h e r can p r e s e n t a s u b j e c t 42 f a i r l y or misrepresent i t e n t i r e l y through manipulation of a photographic process, l i g h t , space, time or capt ion ing . The value of the content of a photographic record i s dependent upon the knowledge a v a i l a b l e about the purposes and techniques of i t s c reator .6 This tenet d i r e c t l y p a r a l l e l s a basic a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e : i t i s important that custodians of records in any medium gather information i l l u m i n a t i n g provenance. With photographs of l e g a l va lue , i t becomes c r u c i a l that the c r e a t i o n , use and storage of documents be c a r e f u l l y documented. In a courtroom, a photograph i s never accepted without examination of i t s o r i g i n s . S t i l l photographs are now commonly employed in l e g a l d i s p u t e s . 7 Although they are considered a spec ia l form of evidence, photographic records are subject to general ru les of a d m i s s i b i l i t y . Their content must f i r s t be relevant to a case being t r i e d . Secondly, they must const i tu te the best evidence a v a i l a b l e . (Some res is tance to the use of n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l documents has been apparent. Many judges continue to consider verbal testimony preferable to evidence in photographic form.8 j n a major i ty of North American j u r i s d i c t i o n s , judges also r e t a i n the r i gh t to exclude photographs on the grounds that they can be inflammatory, in f luenc ing j u r i e s e m o t i o n a l l y . ) 9 T h i r d l y , evidence must be authenticated by a wi tness . Because photographs are most often introduced to i l l u s t r a t e verbal testimony, 43 v e r i f i c a t i o n s i m p l y c o n s i s t s o f an o a t h t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n a p i c t u r e a c c u r a t e l y r e p r e s e n t s a s u b j e c t . 1 0 i t i s t h e v e r b a l s t a t e m e n t t h a t i s n o r m a l l y open t o q u e s t i o n , n o t t h e p h o t o g r a p h i t s e l f . F i n a l l y , b e c a u s e a w i t n e s s u s u a l l y s w e a r s t o f i r s t h a n d k n o w l e d g e o f t h e s u b j e c t o f a p h o t o g r a p h , a n o t h e r b a r r i e r t o a d m i s s i b i l i t y , t h e h e a r s a y p r o b l e m , i s r a r e l y an i s s u e . ( H e a r s a y e v i d e n c e i s i n f o r m a t i o n r e c e i v e d t h r o u g h a t h i r d p a r t y who i s n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r t e s t i m o n y ) . 1 1 When p h o t o g r a p h i c d o c uments a r e p r e s e n t e d i n d e p e n d e n t l y of t h e t e s t i m o n y o f p e r s o n s a b l e t o c o n f i r m t h e v e r a c i t y o f t h e i r c o n t e n t , a u t h e n t i c a t i o n by e x p e r t w i t n e s s e s becomes n e c e s s a r y . 1 2 j n o n e r e c e n t l a w s u i t , f o r e x a m p l e , s p e c i a l i s t s were a s k e d t o i n s p e c t p h o t o g r a p h s o f i l l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s w h i c h a C a l i f o r n i a n c o u p l e had f i l m e d i n t h e i r home. The s i t e c o u l d be v e r i f i e d by t h e i r l a n d l o r d , b u t n e i t h e r he n o r any o t h e r w i t n e s s s p e a k i n g f o r t h e p r o s e c u t i o n c o u l d swear t h a t e v e n t s d e p i c t e d had been f a i r l y p o r t r a y e d . \" E x p e r t t e s t i m o n y was g i v e n t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e p h o t o g r a p h s were no t c o m p o s i t e s o r f a k e s , and were p r o b a b l y t a k e n by one o f t h e p a r t i e s t o t h e a c t s . \" 1 3 j 0 i n s u r e t h a t t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r had n o t i n t e n d e d t o c r e a t e a f a l s e i m p r e s s i o n , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n i n t h e p h o t o g r a p h i c n e g a t i v e s was a u t h e n t i c a t e d t h r o u g h e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e i r f o r m . As t h e e v i d e n t i a r y v a l u e o f a p h o t o g r a p h i n c r e a s e s , 44 a d d i t i o n a l d o c u m e n t a t i o n a b o u t t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s s u r r o u n d i n g i t s c r e a t i n g i s f r e q u e n t l y r e q u e s t e d . As one a u t h o r i t y e x p l a i n s : The e x t e n t o f v e r i f i c a t i o n ( d e g r e e o f p r o o f o f a c c u r a c y ) r e q u i r e d v a r i e s d e p e n d i n g on why t h e p i c t u r e i s i n t r o d u c e d and how i m p o r t a n t i t i s i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e i s s u e s i n t h e c a s e . F o r e x a m p l e , i f t h e p h o t o g r a p h i s s i m p l y u s e d as a c o n v e n i e n t method o f i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e w i t n e s s ' g e n e r a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f a s c e n e , m i n i m a l p r o o f o f a c c u r a c y may be s u f f i c i e n t ; b u t when i t i s o f f e r e d t o show a s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c e o f h e i g h t , b r e a d t h , o r l e n g t h o f v i t a l i m p o r t a n c e , much more c o n v i n c i n g p r o o f s h o u l d be r e q u i r e d . 1 ^ B e c a u s e t h e medium can so e a s i l y be made t o c o n v e y an i n c o r r e c t message, e x p l a n a t o r y t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n must o f t e n be s u p p l i e d . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r can be v i t a l . S o metimes o n l y t h e c r e a t o r w i l l have s u f f i c i e n t k n o w l e d g e o f a s u b j e c t and t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h i t was f i l m e d t o c o n f i r m t h e a c c u r a c y o f a r e c o r d . 1 5 I n C a n a d a , a l o n g w i t h g e n e r a l r u l e s o f a d m i s s i b i l i t y , t h e p h o t o g r a p h s g e n e r a t e d by g o v e r n m e n t s and o t h e r i n c o r p o r a t e d b o d i e s a r e s u b j e c t t o s e c t i o n s o f t h e f e d e r a l E v i d e n c e A c t w h i c h a p p l y t o b u s i n e s s r e c o r d s i n any f o r m . To e n s u r e t h a t t h e o f f i c i a l o r i g i n o f d ocuments i s c l e a r , S e c t i o n 24 o f t h e A c t r e q u i r e s t h a t a copy o f a r e c o r d be c e r t i f i e d by an o f f i c e r r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i t s c u s t o d y . 1 6 I n 45 a d d i t i o n , a r e c o r d must have been c r e a t e d i n t h e \" u s u a l and o r d i n a r y c o u r s e o f b u s i n e s s . \" 1 7 An e m p l o y e e o f a l a r g e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t e n r e l i e s on h e a r s a y t o v e r i f y t h a t a r e c o r d has been c r e a t e d i n an o r d i n a r y manner. H e a r s a y e v i d e n c e i s n o t n o r m a l l y a d m i s s i b l e , b u t an e x c e p t i o n i s made f o r b u s i n e s s documents.1® A h o s p i t a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r , f o r i n s t a n c e , i s u s u a l l y p e r m i t t e d t o a u t h e n t i c a t e an X-Ray p h o t o g r a p h s t o r e d u n d e r h i s / h e r c a r e w i t h o u t h a v i n g p e r s o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f i t s c o n t e n t s b e c a u s e i t i s assumed t h a t r e l i a b l e r e c o r d - k e e p i n g p r a c t i c e s have been f o l l o w e d . 1 ^ Any r e s p o n s i b l e e m p l o y e e o f an a g e n c y can n o r m a l l y v a l i d a t e a document: i f t r a n s f e r t o an i n t e r n a l a r c h i v e s has been a u t h o r i z e d , an o f f i c i a l as f a r removed f r o m r e c o r d c r e a t i o n as an a r c h i v i s t may t e s t i f y . 2 0 I n many W e s t e r n c o u n t r i e s , o f f i c i a l l y p r o d u c e d r e c o r d s a r e a s s i g n e d s t r o n g e v i d e n t i a r y v a l u e . I n a r e c e n t B r i t i s h m a r i t i m e d i s p u t e , f o r e x a m p l e , l a w y e r s f o r t h e p r o s e c u t i o n i n t r o d u c e d p h o t o g r a p h s w h i c h had been c r e a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y a t a C o a s t G u a r d s t a t i o n . A camera w h i c h r e g u l a r l y r e c o r d e d a l l v e s s e l s i n r a n g e had r e g i s t e r e d two s h i p s c o l l i d i n g . The d e f e n d a n t s a r g u e d a g a i n s t t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h e r e c o r d s on t h e g r o u n d s t h a t no w i t n e s s c o u l d swear t o h a v i n g d i r e c t k n o w l e d g e o f t h e e v e n t s p i c t u r e d . I n a p r e c e d e n t - s e t t i n g d e c i s i o n , t h e j u d g e d r e j e c t e d t h e argument.21 I n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e p r a c t i c e o f a u t o m a t i c a c c e p t a n c e o f b u s i n e s s 46 records , o f f i c i a l production and regular circumstances of c reat ion rendered the photographs admiss ib le . One l e g a l author i ty indicated in 1973 that Canadian judges were beginning to fo l low the B r i t i s h and American lead in accepting sys temat ica l l y produced photographs without the supporting testimony of witnesses.22 Unfortunately , current Canadian evidence laws are inadaquate in several ways. Under present p r o v i s i o n s , i t can be .too r e a d i l y assumed that a document held in o f f i c i a l custody i s genuine.23 Authent icat ion should be less automatic. In an a r c h i v a l repos i to ry , for example, where the h is to ry of a record i s not w e l l indicated and custody t ransfers are poorly r e g i s t e r e d , i t s o r i g i n should be c a r e f u l l y examined. In a d d i t i o n , i t can too e a s i l y be taken, for granted both that an employee has adequate f a m i l i a r i t y with a record-producing program and that the system i t s e l f i s dependable. Using an example from another medium, Kenneth Chasse, a lawyer and an expert on the a d m i s s i b i l i t y of evidence, recent ly noted that such vague statutory phrases as \"the usual and ordinary course of business\" have led to incons is tent j u d i c i a l dec is ions on the extent to which the r e l i a b i l i t y of record-keeping systems must be questioned.24 Using computer data systems as a model, he recommends the development of uniform records management p r i n c i p l e s and techniques, along with the i n s e r t i o n of c lea r a d m i s s i b i l i t y hi r e q u i r e m e n t s i n t o e v i d e n c e s t a t u t e s . 2 5 Among ot h e r c r i t e r i a , he b e l i e v e s t h a t judges s h o u l d be r e q u i r e d by law to requ e s t a s s u r a n c e s t h a t e n t r i e s i n t o a data base have been made r e g u l a r l y , t h a t i n p u t p r o cedures have conformed to st a n d a r d i n d u s t r y p r a c t i c e s , t h a t s e c u r i t y f e a t u r e s have been e f f e c t i v e , and t h a t a r e s p o n s i b l e person has overseen and re c o r d e d a l l p r ocesses.26 The \" M i c r o f i l m as Documentary E v i d e n c e \" s t a n d a r d i s s u e d by the Canadian G e n e r a l S t a n d a r d s Board has e s t a b l i s h e d e q u i v a l e n t g u i d e l i n e s a g a i n s t which the c r e d i b i l i t y of r e c o r d - k e e p i n g programs f o r documents i n m i c r o g r a p h i c form can be measured. The Board a d v i s e s , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t programs be implemented under w r i t t e n a u t h o r i t y , t h a t i n t e r n a l p r o c edures be documented through the use of manuals, l o g s and ot h e r r e c o r d s , t h a t f i l m i n g a c c u r a c y be r e g u l a r l y checked, t h a t independent a u d i t s be i n s t i t u t e d , t h a t p r o v i s i o n s be made f o r adequate s t o r a g e , and t h a t an o f f i c e r r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the system be designated.27 In some North American j u r i s d i c t i o n s , t h e r e have been s i m i l a r a ttempts to s t a n d a r d i z e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r the a d m i s s i b i l i t y of photographs. The s t r o n g e s t l e g i s l a t i o n e x i s t s i n the s t a t e of W i s c o n s i n , where judges are r e q u i r e d to c o n s i d e r such t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n as the documentation of the d i r e c t i o n , p o s i t i o n and d i s t a n c e of a camera b e f o r e a l l o w i n g a photograph to stand as e v i d e n c e , even i f these 48 f a c t o r s a r e n o t l i k e l y t o a f f e c t t h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n v e y e d . 2 8 Such c r i t i c s as K e n n e t h C h a s s e b e l i e v e t h a t i n f u t u r e f o r r e c o r d s i n any f o r m t h e r e s h o u l d be l a w s a g a i n s t w h i c h s y s t e m s o f p r o d u c t i o n w o u l d need t o be c h e c k e d . W h i l e t h e r o l e o f r e c o r d s managers and a r c h i v i s t s w i t h i n t h e j u d i c i a l r e a l m has y e t t o be d e f i n e d , i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n w i t h i n b o t h p r o f e s s i o n s w i l l l e a d t o t h e l i c e n s i n g o f r e c o r d k e e p e r s a b l e t o q u a l i f y l e g a l l y as e x p e r t w i t n e s s e s . 2 9 M e a n w h i l e , u n d e r e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n , a r c h i v i s t s and o t h e r o f f i c i a l s c a r i n g f o r r e c o r d s o f l o n g - t e r m l e g a l v a l u e may be c a l l e d upon t o e x p l a i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n , use and s t o r a g e o f d ocuments t h r o u g h b o t h f i r s t h a n d k n o w l e d g e and h e a r s a y e v i d e n c e . 3 0 y 0 p r o t e c t t h e m s e l v e s , a r c h i v i s t s w i l l need t o d e m o n s t r a t e a g r e a t e r i n t e r e s t i n t h e c o m p l e t e l i f e s p a n o f r e c o r d s i n o r d e r t o i n s u r e t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e i r o r i g i n i s r e c o r d e d . 3 1 I n t h e a b s e n c e o f w e l l - d e f i n e d a d m i s s i b i l i t y c r i t e r i a , as much s u p p o r t i n g d o c u m e n t a t i o n as p o s s i b l e s h o u l d be s a v e d . The most u s e f u l r e t e n t i o n g u i d e l i n e s may be f o u n d i n b a s i c a r c h i v a l t h e o r y : a s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s between f u n d a m e n t a l a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e s and t h e l e g a l p r e m i s e s f o r t h e a d m i s s i b i l i t y o f b u s i n e s s r e c o r d s . F i r s t , t h r o u g h t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f p o l i c y p a p e r s , p r o c e d u r a l m a n u a l s , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e h i s t o r i e s and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c h a r t s , an 49 a r c h i v i s t i s o b l i g e d t o r e f l e c t t h e i d e n t i t y and e v o l v i n g p u r p o s e s o f a c r e a t i n g a g e n c y . I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e s u b s e q u e n t c u s t o d y and s t o r a g e o f documents p r o d u c e d i s a l s o c o l l e c t e d . 3 2 M i r r o r i n g t h i s r e q u i r e m e n t i s t h e l e g a l need ( d e f i n e d i n e v i d e n c e a c t s ) f o r a s s u r a n c e s o f t h e o f f i c i a l o r i g i n o f b u s i n e s s r e c o r d s . S e c o n d l y , an a r c h i v i s t must p r o t e c t t h e o r i g i n a l o r d e r o f a body o f d o c u m e n t s , and g a t h e r a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p r o d u c t i o n and c a r e o f r e c o r d s ( a b o u t t e c h n i c a l p r o c e s s e s , f i l i n g s y s t e m s , and so f o r t h ) t o i n d i c a t e t h a t m a t e r i a l has been g e n e r a t e d and t r e a t e d i n an o r d i n a r y manner.33 T h i s t e n e t m a t c h e s t h e l e g a l r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t r e c o r d s be p r o d u c e d r o u t i n e l y . The needs o f t h e u s e r d e t e r m i n e t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e two c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e o f r e s p e c t f o r p r o v e n a n c e must be h o n o r e d . L i m i t i n g p r o v e n a n c e by s a m p l i n g , f o r i n s t a n c e , w h i c h m i g h t s o m e t i m e s be s e e n as a v i o l a t i o n o f r e s p e c t f o r o r i g i n a l o r d e r , i s o f t e n j u s t i f i a b l e . An a r c h i v i s t r e s p o n s i b l e f o r p o l i c e p h o t o g r a p h s c o u l d l e g i t i m a t e l y s a v e o n l y a s a m p l e o f t e x t u a l and p h o t o g r a p h i c r e c o r d s as e v i d e n c e enough o f t h e f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e c r e a t i n g a g e n c y f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s o r f o r t r a i n i n g p e r s o n n e l . I f , h o w e v e r , p h o t o g r a p h s were b e i n g s a v e d as a d e f e n s e a g a i n s t p o t e n t i a l b r u t a l i t y c h a r g e s , p o l i c y s t a t e m e n t s and l e t t e r s a u t h o r i z i n g f i l m i n g w o u l d a l s o be r e q u i r e d , o r i g i n a l o r d e r w o u l d need t o be s c r u p u l o u s l y 50 r e s p e c t e d , and the r a t i o n a l e f o r any f i l e r e d u c t i o n s made by the c r e a t o r would need to be demonstrated. Canadian p h o t o g r a p h i c c u s t o d i a n s seldom a p p r a i s e o f f i c i a l photographs i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t e x t u a l m a t e r i a l , nor are they aware of the f u n c t i o n s and r e c o r d - k e e p i n g p r a c t i c e s of t h e i r parent a g e n c i e s . In an a r t i c l e p u b l i s h e d i n A r c h i v a r i a i n 1980, T e r r y Cook of the P u b l i c A r c h i v e s of Canada i n d i c a t e d t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e c o r d s i n n o n - t e x t u a l form are too o f t e n t o r n from t h e i r f u n c t i o n a l r o o t s and s t o r e d a c c o r d i n g to media w i t h o u t r e s p e c t f o r t h e i r c o n n e c t i o n to r e l a t e d t e x t u a l documents.34 jQ d a t e , most p h o t o g r a p h i c c u s t o d i a n s remain unaware of the i m p o r t a n t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e uses of n o n - t e x t u a l r e c o r d s . In 1983, I sent a l e t t e r to c u s t o d i a n s i n many Canadian c o r p o r a t e , f e d e r a l , p r o v i n c i a l and m u n i c i p a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , a s k i n g f o r an i n d i c a t i o n of the c r i t e r i a which they c o n s i d e r e d i m p o r t a n t i n a p p r a i s i n g photographs. Of the e i g h t e e n who responded, o n l y one p r o v i n c i a l a r c h i v i s t d i d not make the apparent assumption t h a t the o n l y photographs worthy of a p p r a i s a l were those of s c h o l a r l y v a l u e a l o n e . In keeping w i t h a w r i t t e n p o l i c y , he i n d i c a t e d t h a t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n a p p r a i s e s o f f i c i a l photographs as \" a r c h i v a l government r e c o r d s \" of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e , and a n a l y z e s them i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h r e l a t e d documents i n o t h e r forms. Even he, however, d i d not i s o l a t e l e g a l v a l u e as an a p p r a i s a l c r i t e r i o n . 51 Because th e m a j o r i t y o f media r e p o s i t o r i e s i n t h i s c o u n t r y were e s t a b l i s h e d p r i m a r i l y to s e r v e s c h o l a r s , t h e e x i s t i n g c u r a t o r i a l a p p r o a c h to p h o t o g r a p h s i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e . As p h o t o g r a p h i c e v i d e n c e i s used more o f t e n i n c o u r t s o f law, however, a r c h i v i s t s w i l l need to a c q u i r e a g r e a t e r awareness of t h e permanent l e g a l v a l u e of many o f f i c i a l p h o t o g r a p h s , and must b e g i n t o p r o t e c t t h a t v a l u e s y s t e m a t i c a l l y . P r e s e n t c u s t o d i a l p r a c t i c e s a r e c e r t a i n t o improve i f we acknowledge the e x t e n t to which the a r c h i v a l a r t can be an a r c h i v a l s c i e n c e , b u i l t upon sound p r i n c i p l e s and l e g a l l y t e s t e d p r o c e d u r e s . 52 Footnotes Chapter Four 1 See O l i ve r Wendell Holmes, \" ' P u b l i c Records' - Who Knows What They Are?\" American A r c h i v i s t 23 (1960): 5; H i la ry Jenkinson, A Manual of Archive Adminis t rat ion (London: 1937), p. 9; Thornton W. M i t c h e l l , ed. , Norton on Arch ives : The Wri t ings of Margaret Cross Norton on A r c h i v a l and Records Management (Chicago: Society of American A r c h i v i s t s , 1979), pp. 13-14. 2 Jenkinson, Manual, pp. 4 - 8 ; M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , p. 13; Maynard J . B r i c h f o r d , Archives and Manuscripts: Appra isa l and Accessioning (Chicago: Society of American A r c h i v i s t s , 1977), pp. 5 - 7 . 3 See Robert L. Brubaker, \" A r c h i c a l P r i n c i p l e s and the Curator of Manuscr ipts ,\" American A r c h i v i s t 29 (1966): pp. 505-514; Lester J . Cappon, \" H i s t o r i c a l Manuscripts as Arch ives : Some D e f i n i t i o n s and the i r A p p l i c a t i o n , \" American A r c h i v i s t 39 (1976): 429-435. 4 M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , p. 27. 5 George Chernoff and Hershel B. Sarb in , Photography and the Law (New York: American Photographic Book Publ ish ing Co . , 1977), p. 107. 6 See Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye.\" 7 Wi l l iam D. Gehl and Frank L Mu l la re , Photographs: Worth a Thousand Words as Evidence (Wisconsin: I n s t i t u t e of Continuing Legal Education, 1971), p. 1. 8 Chernoff and Sarb in , Photography and the Law, p. 105; Gehl and M a l l a r e , Photographs as Evidence, p. 5; Bruce A. MacFarlane, \"Photographic Evidence: I ts Probative Value at T r i a l and the J u d i c i a l D isc re t ion to Exclude It From Evidence,\" Cr imina l Law Quarter ly no. 16 (1973); Manitoba Law Journal no. 5 (1973). 9 Gehl and M a l l a r e , Photographs as Evidence, p. 5; MacFarlane, \"Photographic Evidence,\" p. 161. 10 Chernoff and Sarb in , Photography and the Law, pp. 104-106; Gehl and M u l l a r e , Photographs as Evidence, pp. 5 - 7 ; MacFarlane, \"Photographic Evidence, pp. 151, 162 . H Kenneth Chase, \"The Legal Issues Concerning the A d m i s s i b i l i t y of Computer Pr in touts and M i c r o f i l m , \" paper 53 presented at the Annual Conference of the Assoc iat ion of Canadian A r c h i v i s t s , Vancouver, B .C . , 1 June 1983, p. 4. 12 MacFarlane, \"Photographic Evidence,\" pp. 153, 175. 13 i b i d . , p. 153. See a l s o : Canadian Evidence Act , R.S.C. 1970; c . E-10, s . 30 (6) . Judges may consider both the content and the form of a record to determine i t s probative va lue . 14 Gehl and Mu l la re , Photographs as Evidence, p. 9. 1 5 I b i d . , p. 21; Chernoff and Sarb in , Photography and the Law, p. 109. For more information about lenses and f i lms acceptable in cour ts , see Fred Hertel , \"P ic tu re Your R i g h t s , \" Photo L i f e 62 (September, 1981; October, 1981). 1 6 Canada Evidence A c t , s . 24. 1 7 I b i d . , s . 30. Chasse, \"The A d m i s s i b i l i t y of Computer P r i n t o u t s , \" 18 p. 4. 19 92-93. 20 Gehl and Mu l la re , Photographs as Evidence, pp. M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , pp. 27-28; Jenkinson, Manual, p. 9 . 21 MacFarlane, \"Photographic Evidence,\" pp. 158-59. I b i d . , p. 161. 22 23 M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , pp. 27-28. In 1943, Norton indicated that under American law i t was l i k e l y that records kept by a responsible o f f i c e r would be considered authent ic . She noted, however, the importance of honoring provenance in order to safeguard o f f i c i a l documents. 24 chasse, \"The A d m i s s i b i l i t y of Computer p r i n t o u t s , \" pp. 1 -2 . 25 i b i d . Clear prov is ions for the a d m i s s i b i l i t y of documents produced by computerized record-keeping systems have already been enacted in other count r ies . See p. 19. 26 i b i d . , p. 24. 54 ^' Canadian General Standards Board, M ic ro f i lm as Documentary Evidence (Ottawa, 1979). 2 8 Gehl and Mul la re , Photographs as Evidence, p. 11. 2 9 Chasse, \"The A d m i s s i b i l i t y of Computer P r i n t o u t s , \" pp. 1 -2 . 30 Canada Evidence Act , s . 30 (6) . A r c h i v i s t Meyer H. Fishbein also points out that a r c h i v i s t s may be questioned about the provenance of records and the i r d i s p o s i t i o n since access ion ing . In a d d i t i o n , support documentation on record-keeping systems may be requested. See \"The E v i d e n t i a l Value of Non-Textual Records: An Ear ly Precedent,\" American A r c h i v i s t 45 (1982): 189-90. 31 On the extent to which a r c h i v i s t s might be considered accountable, see Mark Hopkins, \"Records and Records Keepers J u d i c i a l l y Considered: C r e d i b i l i t y or Convenience?\" A r c h i v a r i a no. 18 (1984): pp. 154-165. 32 M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , pp. 106-108. See a lso the d e f i n i t i o n of \"provenance\" in Rofes, A Basic Glossary . On the types of records which should be c o l l e c t e d to r e f l e c t provenance, see B r i c h f o r d , Appra isa l and Access ion ing , p. 5. 33 see Schel lenberg , Management of A rch ives , p. 92. 34 Terry Cooke, \"The Tyranny of the Medium: A Comment on 'Tota l A r c h i v e s , ' \" A r c h i v a r i a 9 (Winter 1980): pp. 141-150. 55 CHAPTER FIVE RECENT SCHOLARLY USES OF PHOTOGRAPHS In add i t ion to serving an o f f i c i a l o rgan i za t ion , an a r c h i v i s t i s often given a mandate to al low pub l ic access to records for genea log ica l , j o u r n a l i s t i c , scho la r l y and other purposes. In recent years , the use (and, in p a r t i c u l a r , the q u a n t i t a t i v e use) of photographs by scholars has increased d r a m a t i c a l l y . O f f i c i a l l y and p r i v a t e l y created photographs have been a r i c h resource for the humanities and s o c i a l sc iences . To psychologists and s o c i o l o g i s t s , for example, they cons t i tu te a wealthy mine of data for the study of human behavior . To h i s t o r i a n s they o f f e r valuable images of the past . A r c h i v i s t Tom Nesmith noted in 1982 that the burgeoning f i e l d of s o c i a l h i s to ry requires non-textual sources of knowledge about people who did not leave such wr i t ten records as d i a r i e s and l e t t e r s . 1 C a r e f u l l y s tud ied , photographic records can furn ish an astonishing amount of s o c i a l in format ion , e s p e c i a l l y when scho la r l y enqui r ies involve the a c q u i s i t i o n of knowledge about c rea to rs , c o l l e c t o r s and users of photographs. Although a r c h i v a l c o l l e c t i o n s have been regu la r l y accessed 56 by s u c h r e s e a r c h e r s as a r t i s t s , t e l e v i s i o n p r o d u c e r s and h i s t o r i a n s , t h e i r use has g e n e r a l l y been f o r p u r p o s e s f a r f r o m i n t e l l e c t u a l . ^ L i b r a r i a n E s t e l l e O u ssim has o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y o f r e q u e s t s f o r p h o t o g r a p h s have i n p a s t been made f o r s i n g l e , u n c o n n e c t e d p i e c e s o f v i s u a l i n f o r m a t i o n . E x t e n d e d r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s u t i l i z i n g p h o t o g r a p h s as a p r i m a r y i n v e s t i g a t i v e t o o l a r e r a r e . A number o f i n f o r m a t i o n s p e c i a l i s t s and s c h o l a r s have l a m e n t e d t h e m i n i m a l use o f t h e medium. I n c l u d e d , f o r i n s t a n c e , a r e a l i b r a r i a n ( E s t e l l e O u s s i m ) , a r c h i v i s t s and c u r a t o r s ( O e r r y D a v i s o n , Ooan S c h w a r t z ) , h i s t o r i a n s ( W a l t e r R u n d e l l , P e t e D a n i e l , S t u a r t S e e l y S p r a g u e ) , a s o c i o l o g i s t (Games B o r c h e r t ) , and a p r o f e s s o r o f l i t e r a t u r e ( B a r r y O ' C o n n e l l ) . ^ They s u g g e s t a v a r i e t y o f c a u s e s . The most o b v i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n i s h a b i t : b e c a u s e t h e y a r e u n f a m i l i a r w i t h n o n t e x t u a l m e d i a , s c h o l a r s t e n d t o g r a v i t a t e t o w a r d s f a m i l i a r s o u r c e s . I n a d d i t i o n , many a c a d e m i c s , a l o n g w i t h t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c , b e l i e v e t h a t p h o t o g r a p h s s i m p l y p r e s e n t t h e m a t e r i a l w o r l d \"as i t i s \" , l e a v i n g n o t h i n g t o be i n t e r p r e t e d : \" p h o t o g r a p h y ' s r e s i s t a n c e t o i n t e r p r e t a t i o n p a r t l y e x p l a i n s why most h i s t o r i a n s w r i t e as i f t h e medium had n e v e r been i n v e n t e d . \" ^ On t h e o t h e r hand, w i d e s p r e a d d i s t r u s t o f t h e medium i s c l e a r . P e t e D a n i e l s , h i m s e l f an h i s t o r i a n , n o t e s t h a t some s c h o l a r s a r e wary b e c a u s e p h o t o g r a p h i c i m a g es can be t o o e a s i l y m a n i p u l a t e d t o s u p p o r t 57 any g i v e n t h e o r y and can be r e a d i l y p l a c e d i n t o m i s l e a d i n g c o n t e x t s . ^ Susan S o n t a g a g r e e s : p h o t o g r a p h s r e p r e s e n t s l i c e s of l i f e which a r e f a r removed from the b a c k g r o u n d s i n which th e y had meaning. P h o t o g r a p h y r e i n f o r c e s a n o m i n a l i s t view o f s o c i a l r e a l i t y as c o n s i s t i n g o f s m a l l u n i t s o f an a p p a r e n t l y i n f i n i t e number... Through p h o t o g r a p h y , the w o r l d becomes a s e r i e s o f u n r e l a t e d , f r e e s t a n d i n g p a r t i c l e s ; and h i s t o r y , a s e t of a n e c d o t e s . . . I t i s a view o f the w o r l d which d e n i e s i n t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s , c o n t i n u i t y , but which c o n f e r s on each moment the c h a r a c t e r o f a m y s t e r y . Any p h o t o g r a p h has m u l t i p l e meanings.. .6 She adds t h a t a v i e w e r r e a d i l y a c c e p t s images s u p p l i e d by a camera, b e l i e v i n g t h a t t h e y o f f e r knowledge o f the w o r l d , \"but t h i s i s t h e o p p o s i t e o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g , which s t a r t s from not a c c e p t i n g t h e w o r l d as i t l o o k s . . . F u n c t i o n i n g t a k e s p l a c e s i n t i m e , and must be e x p l a i n e d i n t i m e . Only t h a t which n a r r a t e s can make us u n d e r s t a n d . \" 7 S c h o l a r s n a r r a t e and a n a l y z e , o r d e r i n g the p a s t and e s t a b l i s h i n g c a u s e s and c o n s e q u e n c e s . S o n t a g s u g g e s t s t h a t p h o t o g r a p h s , c o n v e r s e l y , oppose o r d e r e d h i s t o r y , i m p l y i n g t h a t r e a l i t y i s a r b i t r a r y and u n c l a s s i f i a b l e . ® I s o l a t e d u n i t s of d a t a i n any form can seem u n r e l a t e d , of c o u r s e , and open t o m a n i p u l a t i o n . I t i s t h e t a s k of the s c h o l a r to make an h o n e s t e f f o r t to u n d e r s t a n d s o u r c e m a t e r i a l i n i t s o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t . U s i n g p h o t o g r a p h s as a 58 s t a r t i n g p o i n t , some u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a s u b j e c t and i t s s o c i a l b a c k g r o u n d can g e n e r a l l y be a c q u i r e d . ^ The r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f an o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t i s not a s i m p l e m a t t e r , however. A v i e w e r may l i n g e r o v e r any g i v e n p h o t o g r a p h , but knowledge o f the c i r c u m s t a n c e s under which i t was c r e a t e d i s sometimes i m p o s s i b l e t o a t t a i n . 1 0 An i n n o v a t i v e r e s p o n s e by some a c a d e m i c s has been to pose q u e s t i o n s which can be answered not by i n d i v i d u a l p i c t u r e s but t h r o u g h s y s t e m a t i c s t u d y o f a l a r g e number of images. 1 1 In an e x c e l l e n t a r t i c l e on the s o p h i s t i c a t e d u s e s to which n o n - t e x t u a l media can be p u t , E s t e l l e Oussim compares s u p e r f i c i a l s e a r c h e s f o r v i s u a l answers t o s i n g l e - q u e s t i o n e n q u i r i e s to s e r i o u s r e s e a r c h by i n t e l l e c t u a l s ( r e s e a r c h u n d e r t a k e n w i t h i n s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s , to u n d e r s t a n d the r e l a t i o n s h i p between two or more v a r i a b l e s ) . T h i s q u a n t i t a t i v e a p p r o a c h i s now common i n t h e h u m a n i t i e s and s o c i a l s c i e n c e s . 1 2 T n e e s s e n t i a l a s s u m p t i o n of such r e s e a r c h i s t h a t h i s t o r y i s not a c o m p i l a t i o n o f u n i q u e e v e n t s f o r which v i s u a l r e c o r d s e x i s t , \"but r a t h e r i s a n o r m a t i v e phenomenon f o r which the q u a n t i t a t i v e e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e c o n t e n t o f l a r g e numbers o f v i s u a l r e c o r d s may p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e . G o n e a r e the days when r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t i o n s c o u l d m a i n t a i n random, h a p h a z a r d l y - c o l l e c t e d f i l e s . I ^ To p e r m i t g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s about h y p o t h e s e s , r e s e a r c h e r s r e q u i r e a c c e s s t o e x t e n s i v e , r o u t i n e l y g a t h e r e d 59 bodies of in format ion . Some spec ia l i zed media repos i to r ies organized by subject areas do e x i s t . One f i l m c o l l e c t i o n , for instance , al lows the study of c u l t u r a l d i f fe rences between the dep ic t ion of women in German and Engl ish movies. To be thorough, such an ana lys is of media as the c a r r i e r of the cu l ture which produced i t i s poss ib le only when a mass of data i s a v a i l a b l e . 1 5 Some scholars agree that unsystematic a c q u i s i t i o n of the photographs held in research r e p o s i t o r i e s has in past l i m i t e d pro jects and biased samples . I 6 Given an adequate supply of resource m a t e r i a l , however, ser ious inves t iga t ion can begin. Contrasts can be made; d i f fe rences and s i m i l a r i t i e s can be observed. Walter Rundell recommends beginning with a set of photographs and l e t t i n g research hypotheses emerge. James Borchert a lso ind icates that recur r ing subjects and moti fs shape h is s tud ies . During one of h is i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , for example, the k insh ip patterns in a Washington community emerged only a f t e r prolonged study of photographs of the area.17 In any case, to glance at photographs i s never enough. Truths underlying s u p e r f i c i a l images can be gleaned: body p o s i t i o n i n g , for instance, can reveal the nature of the r e l a t i o n s h i p s between people portrayed.18 Captions, too, must be c a r e f u l l y examined. Dates and other information can be v e r i f i e d by c lose comparison with evidence in the 60 photographs themselves and with information from external sources. Corroborating documents in other media can include manuscripts, maps, newspaper c l i p p i n g s and c i t y d i r e c t o r i e s . To understand the content of both images and capt ions , immersion in secondary l i t e r a t u r e i s a lso impor tant . I 9 With time and thought, photographs i n e v i t a b l y y i e l d much more information about subjects and creators than f i r s t meets the eye. A review of the c o l l e c t i v e and i n d i v i d u a l purposes of photographers, along with t h e i r choice and treatment of content, i s both necessary in order to understand t h e i r work and s o c i a l l y r e v e a l i n g . Ind iv idua l purposes can be d i f f i c u l t to a s c e r t a i n . Access to creators i s valuable but ra re l y p o s s i b l e , and sometimes even the name of a photographer cannot be obtained. In past , many r e p o s i t o r i e s f a i l e d to document the provenance of photographs. In any event, many de l iberate and unconscious purposes can be determined through ana lys is of the records themselves. The scho la r l y use of photographs has broadened during the past decade. An issue of the Journal of American Culture published in 1981, for example, includes a r t i c l e s about the u t i l i z a t i o n of the medium by c u l t u r a l h i s t o r i a n s , about the manner in which labourers were photographical ly depicted between 1840 and 1920, about domestic snapshots, 61 and about t h e p h o t o - j o u r n a l i s m o f R o b e r t Capa. In Canada, p r o j e c t s have r a n g e d from s t u d i e s o f the p i o n e e r o u t p u t of p r o f e s s i o n a l s t o e x a m i n a t i o n s o f a r c h i t e c t u r a l p h o t o g r a p h y and t h e a t t i t u d e s r e v e a l e d i n u r b a n images.20 P h o t o g r a p h s c a n n o t be employed i n e v e r y t y p e o f e n q u i r y . They can d e s c r i b e t h e v i s u a l w o r l d w e l l , but t h e y c a n n o t answer q u e s t i o n s of an a b s t r a c t n a t u r e . M a r s h a l l McLuhan n o t e s t h a t w h i l e l a n g u a g e a l l o w s s t a t e m e n t s i n g e n e r a l terms a l o n g w i t h p r o j e c t i o n s i n t o the f u t u r e , p h o t o g r a p h s may i n v i t e s p e c u l a t i o n but c a n n o t e x p r e s s f u t u r e p o s s i b i l i t i e s . 2 1 As d e s c r i p t i o n s o f the p a s t , however, they a r e an i n v a l u a b l e and l a r g e l y u n t a p p e d l o d e o f knowledge. 62 Footnotes Chapter Five 1 Tom Nesmith, \"Archives from the Bottom Up: Soc ia l History and A rch i va l Scho larsh ip , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 14 (1982): P- 8. 2 juss im, \"Research Trends,\" pp. 763-764. 3 James Borchert , \"An Analys is of H i s t o r i c a l Photographs: A Meethod and Case Study,\" Studies in V i s u a l Communication 7 (1981); Pete D a n i e l , \"Photographs as H i s t o r i c a l Document,\" Arkansas L i b r a r i e s 35 (1978); Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye ' ; Barry O 'Connel l , \"Photograph as a Source\"; Walter Rundel l , \"Photographs as H i s t o r i c a l Evidence: Ear ly Texas O i l , \" American A r c h i v i s t 41 (1978); Joan Schwartz, \"The Past in Focus: Photography and B r i t i s h Columbia, 1858-1914,\" B.C. Studies no. 52 (1982); Stuart Seely Sprague, \"Is a P ic ture Worth a Thousand Words? How to Develop a P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y , \" History News 38 (1983): 15-17. 4 O 'Connel l , \"Photograph as a Source,\" pp. 1 -2 . 5 D a n i e l , \"Photographs as H i s t o r i c a l Documents,\" p. 3. See also Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye.\" 6 Sontag, On Photography, pp. 22-23. 7 I b i d . 8 O 'Connel l , \"Photograph as a Source,\" p. 5; Sontag, On Photography, p. 80. 9 O 'Connel l , \"Photograph as a Source,\" pp. 5 - 7 . 10 Barthes, Camera Luc ida , p. 99. 11 See Runde l l , \"Ear ly Texas O i l \" ; Sprague, \" P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y . \" 12 Juss im, \"Research Uses,\" p. 764. 13 I b i d . , P. 765. 14 I b i d . , P. 767 . 15 Ib id . . , P- 769. 16 Study.\" See Runde l l , \"Ear ly Texas O i l \" ; Borchert , \"Case 63 1 7 See B o r c h e r t , \"Case Study.\" 18 See D a v i s o n , \"Turning a B l i n d Eye.\" 19 O ' C o n n e l l , \"Photograph as a Source,\" p. 6. 2° 3 u s t i n Kestenbaum, \"The Photograph: A New F r o n t i e r i n S o c i a l H i s t o r y \" ; R i c h a r d O e s t r e i c h e r , \"From A r t i s a n to Consumer: Images of Workers, 1840-1920\"; Jacobs, \"Grammar\"; Lawrence Rudner, \"The I n v o l v e d Eye: Robert Capa as P h o t o j o u r n a l i s t , 1936-54,\" J o u r n a l of American C u l t u r e 4 (1981); P h y l l i s Lambert, \" P h o t o g r a p h i c Documentation and B u i l d i n g s : R e l a t i o n s h i p s Past and P r e s e n t \" ; S t a n l e y G. T r i g g s , \"Alexander Henderson: N i n e t e e n t h Century Landscape Photographer,\" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978); L i l l y K o l t u n , C i t y B l o c k s , C i t y Spaces: H i s t o r i c a l Photographs of Canada's Urban Growth, 1850-1900 (Ottawa: M i n i s t e r of Supply and S e r v i c e s , 1980). 21 McLuhan, U n d e r s t a n d i n g Media, p. 201. 64 CHAPTER SIX A CRITICAL SURVEY OF LITERATURE BY PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVISTS A c c e p t e d a r c h i v a l t h e o r y has been o v e r l o o k e d or d i s r e g a r d e d by an o v e r w h e l m i n g number of p r o f e s s i o n a l c u s t o d i a n s o f p h o t o g r a p h s . An e x a m i n a t i o n of t h e l i t e r a t u r e which t h e y have p u b l i s h e d r e v e a l s t h a t c o n c e r n f o r t h e permanent a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e of many o f f i c i a l l y - p r o d u c e d p h o t o g r a p h s i s o f t e n l a c k i n g . One o f the c a u s e s , no doubt, i s t h e c o n f u s e d t r e a t m e n t o f v i s u a l r e c o r d s by l e a d i n g t h e o r i s t s i n t h e a r c h i v a l f i e l d . F o r example, i n a manual p u b l i s h e d i n 1965, T.R. S c h e l l e n b e r g , l o n g a c k nowledged as a p a r e n t o f N o r t h A m e r i c a n a r c h i v a l and c u r a t o r i a l p r a c t i c e , e s t a b l i s h e d s e v e r a l b a s i c p r o f e s s i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s , but u n f o r t u n a t e l y d i d not a p p l y h i s own t e n e t s t o r e c o r d s i n n o n - t e x t u a l media. W h i l e n o t i n g t h a t a r c h i v a l r e c o r d s d e r i v e meaning from t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l o r i g i n s and from the o r g a n i c a c t i v i t i e s which p r o d u c e them, he s t a t e d t h a t p i c t o r i a l r e c o r d s a r e e x c e p t i o n a l : . . . t h e p r o v e n a n c e o f p i c t o r i a l r e c o r d s i n some government agency, c o r p o r a t e body or p e r s o n i s r e l a t i v e l y u n i m p o r t a n t , f o r such r e c o r d s do not d e r i v e much of t h e i r 65 meaning from t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l o r i g i n s . . . Such r e c o r d s a r e o r d i n a r i l y not p r o d u c e d f o r p u r p o s e s of a c t i o n and a r e o f t e n not t r u l y o r g a n i c i n c h a r a c t e r . They a r e u s u a l l y p r o d u c e d . . . t o s t i m u l a t e e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e . Thus, a p h o t o g r a p h e r or an a r t i s t may p r o d u c e p i c t u r e s f o r a r t i s t i c p l e a s u r e . ^ Whether or not S c h e l l e n b e r g u n d e r s t o o d t h a t p i c t o r i a l r e c o r d s a r e g e n e r a t e d by c r e a t i n g a g e n c i e s f o r s e r i o u s p u r p o s e s , h i s r e s p e c t i n g e n e r a l f o r the c r u c i a l l i n k s between the a c t i v i t i e s of c r e a t o r s and t h e r e c o r d s which th e y c r e a t e has been a c c e p t e d as i n t e g r a l t o the a r c h i v a l p r o f e s s i o n . In a s t u d y of a r c h i v a l a p p r a i s a l c r i t e r i a p r o d u c e d f o r the S o c i e t y o f A m e r i c a n A r c h i v i s t s i n 1977, a u t h o r Maynard B r i c h f o r d a l s o made an u n f o r t u n a t e d i s t i n c t i o n between v i s u a l r e c o r d s and documents i n t e x t u a l form, a g r e e i n g t h a t g e n e r a l s t a n d a r d s o f a p p r a i s a l s h o u l d be u t i l i z e d f o r n o n - t e x t u a l r e c o r d s , y e t a d d i n g t h a t such s p e c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s as \" q u a n t i t y , \" \" q u a l i t y , \" and \" s i g n i f i c a n t c o m p o s i t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t , \" must be a p p l i e d to p h o t o g r a p h s . C h a l l e n g e s posed by u n w i e l d y q u a n t i t i e s o f r e c o r d s a r e h a r d l y u n i q u e t o v i s u a l r e c o r d s , however, and documents i n any form must al w a y s be of s u f f i c i e n t q u a l i t y to s e r v e the p u r p o s e s f o r which t h e y have been c r e a t e d . Such i s s u e s s h o u l d a l w a y s be seen o n l y as s e c o n d a r y c o n c e r n s . To c u s t o d i a n s o f o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s i t i s t h e a r c h i v a l c r i t e r i o n 66 o f o n - g o i n g a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e w h i c h m u s t r e m a i n p a r a m o u n t . B r i c h f o r d ' s t r e a t m e n t o f p h o t o g r a p h s , a l o n g w i t h S c h e l l e n b e r g ' s , i s a p p a r e n t l y b a s e d u p o n t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e y a r e g e n e r a t e d o n l y f o r p u r p o s e s p e r i p h e r a l t o t h e p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s : \" . . . f o r a g i f t o r a p u b l i c a t i o n . . . P h o t o g r a p h s , l i k e a r t i f a c t s , h a v e u n i q u e v a l u e s f o r e x h i b i t i o n . \" 3 I n an a r t i c l e on a u r a l a n d g r a p h i c a r c h i v e s , an A m e r i c a n map a r c h i v i s t , R a l p h E h r e n b e r g , r e f e r s r e f r e s h i n g l y t o t h e d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n p h o t o g r a p h s a n d t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e i r p a r e n t a g e n c i e s o r d o n o r s . I n a d d i t i o n , he d i s c u s s e s t h e d i s p o s a l o f o f f i c i a l m a t e r i a l when i t s a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e h a s e x p i r e d . N e v e r t h e l e s s , e v e n E h r e n b e r g i s m i s l e d by t h e i s s u e o f \" q u a l i t y \" , s u g g e s t i n g t h a t a u r a l a n d g r a p h i c a r c h i v e s c a n b a s i c a l l y be d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m \" t r a d i t i o n a l \" r e c o r d s by b o t h t e c h n i c a l a n d a e s t h e t i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . ' ' A g a i n , t h e d i s t i n c t i o n i s m i s l e a d i n g . A t e c h n i c a l p r o b l e m s u c h a s l a c k o f c l a r i t y m u s t be f a c e d w i t h d o c u m e n t s i n a n y f o r m . I l l e g i b l e p r i n t i n g i n a r e p o r t , f o r e x a m p l e , w i l l d e s t r o y i n f o r m a t i o n a l v a l u e . I n a d d i t i o n , i t i s n o t i m p o s s i b l e f o r r e c o r d s i n t e x t u a l f o r m t o p o s s e s s a r t i s t i c v a l u e ( a n i l l u s t r a t e d m a n u s c r i p t , f o r i n s t a n c e ) , w h i l e t h e a e s t h e t i c q u a l i t y o f a p e r m a n e n t l y v a l u a b l e p h o t o g r a p h o f s a f e t y w i r i n g r e m a i n s i r r e l e v a n t . One o f t h e m o s t c l e a r - t h i n k i n g A m e r i c a n a r c h i v i s t s , Margaret Cross Norton, recognized as ear ly as 1956 that , regardless of form, i t i s p r i m a r i l y the informat ional content of o f f i c i a l records which must be appraised and protected . Technical considerat ions are secondary: The a r c h i v i s t ' s i n te res t in the phys ica l q u a l i t i e s of records i s based upon the problems which face him a f t e r the permanent records come into h is custody [Emphasis mine]. W i l l they create problems in storage; w i l l they require r e s t o r a t i o n in connection with t h e i r p reservat ion ; w i l l they be in a form which w i l l make i t easy for him to locate data in the records? 5 In other words, before acqui r ing records an a r c h i v i s t must consider admin is t rat i ve value rather than techn ica l d e t a i l s . Two Canadian a r c h i v i s t s , Hugh Taylor and Terry Cook, have a lso made valuable cont r ibut ions to the e x i s t i n g body of l i t e r a t u r e on non- textual media. In h is r e f l e c t i o n s on \"Documentary A r t , \" Hugh Taylor noted that custodians have tended to plunder un i ts of government records to obtain work s o l e l y for i t s a r t i s t i c value.6 He pointed that v i s u a l records which have been produced as o f f i c i a l pub l ic docu-ments (war pa int ings commissioned as propaganda t o o l s , for example) should be treated as such. In other words, they must be c o l l e c t e d for t h e i r documentary ( informat ional ) rather than t h e i r aesthet ic va lue . I t i s a lso important to determine whether re lated documents in other media have an 6 8 o r g a n i c r e l a t i o n s h i p t o the documentary a r t i n q u e s t i o n . 7 Hugh T a y l o r a l s o recommended g r e a t e r awareness o f a c r e a t o r ' s v i e w p o i n t , o f the c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f c r e a t i o n , and of the s p e c i f i c ways i n which an a r t i s t uses a g i v e n medium to convey a p a r t i c u l a r message. In 1979, T e r r y Cook a p p l i e d the a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e o f provenance t o the P u b l i c A r c h i v e s o f Canada and d i s c o v e r e d some s e r i o u s f l a w s i n t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n ' s p r a c t i c e o f s e p a r a t i n g r e c o r d s by media. U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t the meaning o f any o f f i c i a l r e c o r d i s r e l a t e d t o the o r g a n i c c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f i t s c r e a t i o n , Cook r e a l i z e d t h a t f e d e r a l government r e c o r d groups were b e i n g m i s t r e a t e d by c u s t o d i a n s i n such i n t e r n a l A r c h i v a l d i v i s i o n s as the N a t i o n a l P h o tography C o l l e c t i o n : Some photography u n i t s make no s e c r e t t h a t a s u b s t a n t i a l p a r t o f t h e i r a c q u i s i t i o n a c t i v i t y i s o r i e n t e d t o documenting the h i s t o r y o f the p h o t o g r a p h i c medium and t h a t a e s t h e t i c a p p e a l r a t h e r than h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e i s o f p r i m a r y i m p o r t a n c e . F o r example, one such u n i t has r e f u s e d on o c c a s i o n t o a c c e p t p h o t o g r a p h s found on government f i l e s and recommended f o r t r a n s f e r [by t e x t u a l a r c h i v i s t s ] . . . 8 The N a t i o n a l P h otography C o l l e c t i o n had been b r i n g i n g c u r a t o r i a l r a t h e r than a r c h i v a l c r i t e r i a t o b e a r , w i t h a heavy emphasis upon s c h o l a r l y and a r t i s t i c r a t h e r than a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e s . Cook r e g r e t t e d t h a t o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s 69 were o f t e n b e i n g d i s r e g a r d e d o r b e i n g t o r n f r o m t h e i r f u n c t i o n a l r o o t s f o r n a r r o w p u r p o s e s w i t h o u t a d e q u a t e d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f t h e i r p r o v e n a n c e , i n c l u d i n g t h e i r l i n k s t o r e l a t e d m a t e r i a l . I n t h e p r o c e s s , t h e v a l u e o f b o d i e s o f r e c o r d s was b e i n g d amaged. 9 U n f o r t u n a t e l y , few c o n t e m p o r a r y c a r e t a k e r s o f o f f i c i a l l y p r o d u c e d p h o t o g r a p h s have shown any i n t e r e s t i n t h e l e s s o n s o f N o r t o n , E h r e n b e r g , T a y l o r o r Cook. I n t h e i r w r i t i n g on t h e a p p r a i s a l o f p h o t o g r a p h s , t h e v a r i e t y o f i m p o r t a n t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ( i n c l u d i n g l e g a l ) u s e s o f t h e medium have r a r e l y been m e n t i o n e d . C a n a d i a n c u s t o d i a n s , i n f a c t , have s c a r c e l y even a d d r e s s e d t h e i s s u e o f a p p r a i s a l i n g e n e r a l t e r m s . One e a r l y a t t e m p t was made by C l a u d e M i n o t t o i n 1974, i n a work p r i n t e d f o r t h e a r c h i v a l t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m o f t h e P u b l i c A r c h i v e s o f C a n a d a . M i n o t t o o b s e r v e d t h a t p h o t o g r a p h s s h o u l d be a p p r o a c h e d c r i t i c a l l y , and p o i n t e d o u t t h a t r e s e a r c h i n t o t h e i r o r i g i n s i l l u m i n a t e s t h e i r d o c u m e n t a r y c o n t e n t . He a l s o i n d i c a t e d t h a t i n s t i t u t i o n s s h o u l d d e f i n e c o l l e c t i o n a r e a s , c h o o s i n g s u b j e c t s o f w i d e g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t and g a t h e r i n g t h e o u t p u t o f n o t e d p h o t o g r a p h e r s . 1 0 I n a t h o u g h t f u l p i e c e s u b m i t t e d t o A r c h i v a r i a i n 1976, P e t e r R o b e r t s o n o u t l i n e d many o f t h e ways i n w h i c h p h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n can be d e l i b e r a t e l y and u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y d i s t o r t e d . He, t o o , d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e need 70 f o r a c r i t i c a l eye. Robertson i n d i c a t e d that a custodian should l e a r n as much as p o s s i b l e about a photographer, and should watch fo r d i s t o r t i o n of photographic information.11 In a tone which has since been echoed by many authors, Robertson a l s o lamented the incomplete use of the medium by h i s t o r i a n s . In an i s s u e of A r c h i v a r i a devoted to the theme of \"Photographs and A r c h i v e s , \" Richard Huyda produced an overview of the p r o f e s s i o n a l concerns of photographic c a r e t a k e r s , mentioning such problems as maintaining a balance between the adequate p r o v i s i o n of access to o r i g i n a l records and t h e i r damage through over-use. In a d i s c u s s i o n of c o l l e c t i o n p o l i c i e s , he noted that only r e c e n t l y have Canadian r e p o s i t o r i e s gathered m a t e r i a l on the b a s i s of photographer, photographic type, or i n l i g h t of photographic trends and p r a c t i c e s . The c o l l e c t i o n of records produced and preserved f o r on-going a d m i n i s t r a t i v e value, however, was ignored by Huyda. His focus was upon independent photographers and upon the medium i t s e l f . In a r e v e a l i n g statement, he deplored the \"inadequate r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the s k i l l s and a b i l i t i e s of Canadian photographers because of [ a r c h i v i s t s ' ] p r e v a i l i n g pre-occupation with content.\"12 His lack of awareness of a r c h i v a l theory i s apparent here. The a c q u i s i t i o n of photographs having i n f o r m a t i o n a l value (content) i n a d d i t i o n to e v i d e n t i a l value ( l i g h t shed on the 71 p u r p o s e s and p r a c t i c e s o f c r e a t o r s ) s h o u l d h a r d l y be s e e n as an u n w o r t h y p u r s u i t i n any a r c h i v e s . 1 3 The n e x t commentary on t h e i s s u e o f a p p r a i s a l a p p e a r e d as a r e s p o n s e by Andrew B i r r e l l o f t h e N a t i o n a l P h o t o g r a p h y C o l l e c t i o n t o T e r r y C o o k ' s c h a r g e s . B i r r e l l i n s i s t e d t h a t t h e h i s t o r i c a l v a l u e o f p h o t o g r a p h s and t h e a e s t h e t i c h i s t o r y o f p h o t o g r a p h y c o u l d be i d e n t i c a l , i m p l y i n g t h a t a b s t r a c t p h o t o g r a p h i c a r t y i e l d s v a l u a b l e e v i d e n c e a b o u t a n a t i o n ' s h i s t o r y . ^ L i k e Huyda, B i r r e l l d i d n o t r e f l e c t any a w a r e n e s s o f t h e f a c t t h a t a r c h i v a l and m a n u s c r i p t r e p o s i t o r i e s have c u s t o m a r i l y a i d e d s c h o l a r s i n t h e i r s t u d y o f s o c i e t i e s t h r o u g h t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f r e c o r d s p o s s e s s i n g b o t h i n f o r m a t i o n a l and e v i d e n t i a l v a l u e . F o r r e s e a r c h e r s i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f a r t i s t i c p r a c t i c e s ( i n t h e c h a n g i n g c o n c e r n s o f a r t i s t s r e f l e c t e d by t h e e v i d e n t i a l v a l u e o f t h e i r work) t h e a r t i n q u e s t i o n c o u l d be m e t a l s c u l p t u r e , n e e d l e p o i n t , o r a r t i s t i c p h o t o g r a p h y . The b u s i n e s s o f a r c h i v i s t s , h o w e v e r , has t r a d i t i o n a l l y been t h o s e documents w h i c h a l s o c o n t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n a l v a l u e ( i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t p e o p l e and t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t s ) . A b s t r a c t a r t does n o t b e l o n g i n t h i s c a t e g o r y . M e a n w h i l e , B i r r e l l f a i l e d t o r e s p o n d t o Cook's a l l e g a t i o n t h a t t h e N a t i o n a l P h o t o g r a p h y C o l l e c t i o n had n e g l e c t e d p h o t o g r a p h s o f p e r m a n e n t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e . He r e p l i e d o n l y t h a t t r a n s f e r s t o t h e C o l l e c t i o n f r o m p u b l i c r e c o r d g r o u p s f o r m e d 72 \"a v e r y s m a l l p a r t o f t h e h o l d i n g s o f t h e n o n - t e x t u a l media ( d i v i s i o n s ) . \" 1 5 N 0 d o u b t t h e y s t i l l do. The q u e s t i o n , o f c o u r s e , i s w h e t h e r t h e y s h o u l d . The s m a l l p e r c e n t a g e p r o b a b l y r e f l e c t s t h e f a c t t h a t many o f f i c i a l g o v e r n m e n t r e c o r d s a r e b e i n g w r o n g f u l l y i g n o r e d . P e r h a p s a s e p a r a t i o n o f a r c h i v a l and c u r a t o r i a l r o l e s w i t h i n t h e N.P.C. ( s i m i l a r t o an e x i s t i n g d i v i s i o n w i t h i n t h e N a t i o n a l Map C o l l e c t i o n b etween c a r e t a k e r s o f g o v e r n m e n t r e c o r d s and t h o s e c o l l e c t i n g f r o m t h e p r i v a t e s p h e r e ) w o u l d e n c o u r a g e p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s t o d e v o t e more e n e r g y t o p u b l i c r e c o r d s and w o u l d p r o m o t e an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e ways i n w h i c h a r c h i v a l c o n c e r n s a r e d i s t i n c t f r o m t h o s e o f c u r a t o r s . The r e m a i n i n g a r t i c l e s a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h s w r i t t e n f o r A r c h i v a r i a do n o t a d d r e s s t h e i s s u e o f a p p r a i s a l , and s e l d o m do t h e y t o u c h upon t h e o t h e r i m p o r t a n t p r o f e s s i o n a l c o n c e r n s o f c u s t o d i a n s . Too many o f them c o u l d have been w r i t t e n w i t h e q u a l j u s t i f i c a t i o n by h i s t o r i a n s and o t h e r a c a d e m i c s . A l o n g s i d e Huyda's o v e r v i e w , f o r i n s t a n c e , i s a summary by f e d e r a l a r c h i v i s t J o a n S c h w a r t z o f h e r o u t s t a n d i n g t h e s i s on t h o s e c u l t u r a l a t t i t u d e s o f f r o n t i e r B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a w h i c h can be d i s c o v e r e d t h r o u g h p h o t o g r a p h s . ^ The t h e s i s i t s e l f was u n d e r t a k e n as p a r t o f h e r s t u d i e s i n h i s t o r i c a l g e o g r a p h y . A l t h o u g h t h e a r t i c l e i s meant t o s e t an ex a m p l e t o r e s e a r c h e r s , s o c i a l v a l u e s a r e e x a m i n e d t o an e x t e n t w h i c h goes beyond t h e a r c h i v i s t ' s c u s t o m a r y r o l e . 73 In the same i s s u e , several other contr ibutors focus d i r e c t l y upon cus tod ia l matters . Included are a r t i c l e s on conservat ion , cataloguing and the use of v i s u a l f ind ing aids in reference rooms.17 Rounding out the e d i t i o n i s an annotated b ib l iography compiled by L i l l y Koltun of the Pub l i c Archives of Canada o u t l i n i n g the nucleus of a reference l i b r a r y for photographic a r c h i v i s t s . 1 8 L is ted are works under such headings as storage, conservat ion, d e s c r i p t i o n , copyright and e x h i b i t i o n , along with background readings deal ing with the h i s to ry of photography, techn ica l concerns and a r t i s t i c photography. Oddly, given both that the b ib l iography i s addressed to a r c h i v i s t s and that appra isa l i s equal in importance to d e s c r i p t i o n , conservation and other a r c h i v a l processes, there i s no sect ion assigned to a p p r a i s a l , and no reading in the a r c h i v a l f i e l d (and, in p a r t i c u l a r , about o f f i c i a l records) i s recommended as a prelude to a c q u i s i t i o n . B r i c h f o r d ' s manual on a p p r a i s a l , for example, which had been published e a r l i e r in 1977, should have been mentioned. Comments upon non- textual media by such acknowledged leaders as Margaret Cross Norton should a lso have been c i t e d . Sadly , i t i s again c lear that a ser ious charge can be l e g i t i m a t e l y lev ied against contemporary photographic a r c h i v i s t s : they seem to be l a r g e l y unaware of a r c h i v a l theory. Contained in subsequent ed i t i ons of A r c h i v a r i a were an 74 h i s t o r i c a l n o t e by P e t e r R o b e r t s o n on t h e e a r l y use o f X-Ray p h o t o g r a p h y i n C a n a d a , p l u s , i n c l u d e d i n a volume h o n o r i n g t h e a c h i e v e m e n t s o f a r c h i v i s t D r . Kaye Lamb, a p r e s e n t a t i o n by P e t e r R o b e r t s o n and G l e n n W r i g h t o f s e v e r a l i l l u s t r a t i o n s o f D r . Lamb and o t h e r i l l u s t r i o u s p e r s o n s . ^ 9 The p r e s e n t a t i o n i s e n t i t l e d \" P h o t o g r a p h i c I n t e r l u d e . \" As an i n t e r l u d e i s d e f i n e d i n a t l e a s t one d i c t i o n a r y as \"a l u l l i n a c t i v i t y , \" one wonders w h e t h e r p h o t o g r a p h s a r e y e t t a k e n s e r i o u s l y e ven by a r c h i v i s t s as a c t i v e s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n . 2 0 The most r e c e n t a r t i c l e a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h y p r o d u c e d f o r A r c h i v a r i a was a m u l t i - a u t h o r e d e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e o u t p u t o f a m a t e u r s w o r k i n g i n t h i s c o u n t r y between 1839 and 1940. (The s u b j e c t has a l s o been t r e a t e d by t h e a u t h o r s i n an a t t r a c t i v e book w h i c h was r e l e a s e d l a t e i n 1984).21 The f e a t u r e r e f l e c t s t h e e f f o r t s o f t h e c u r a t o r s o f t h e N a t i o n a l P h o t o g r a p h y C o l l e c t i o n t o l o c a t e and o b t a i n some o f t h e o u t s t a n d i n g p h o t o g r a p h s c r e a t e d p r i v a t e l y d u r i n g t h e p a s t c e n t u r y . I n t h e f i r s t a r t i c l e i n c l u d e d , Andrew B i r r e l l g i v e s an i n t e r e s t i n g a c c o u n t o f t h e b a c k g r o u n d r e s e a r c h i n v o l v e d , a l o n g w i t h t h e s t e p s t a k e n i n a c q u i r i n g , e x h i b i t i n g and p u b l i c i z i n g t h e c o l l e c t i o n s . The s e c o n d a r t i c l e , w r i t t e n by B i r r e l l and f o u r o t h e r s t a f f members, o u t l i n e s s e v e r a l d i s t i n c t p e r i o d s o f d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h i n t h e h i s t o r y o f C a n a d i a n a m a t e u r p h o t o g r a p h y . The a u t h o r s i n d i c a t e t h a t 75 amateurs were \"among the f i r s t to t a k e o n - t h e - s p o t s n a p s h o t s , t h e f i r s t to p u r s u e p h o t o g r a p h y as an a r t form, the f i r s t t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h c o l o u r p h o t o g r a p h y , and the f i r s t t o a d o p t the m i n i a t u r e camera.\"22 U n d e n i a b l y , amateurs p l a y e d an i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n the t e c h n i c a l and a e s t h e t i c d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e medium. I t i s a l s o t r u e , or at l e a s t a l m o s t t r u e , as e d i t o r T e r r y Cook s t a t e s i n h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n , t h a t \" t h e p h o t o g r a p h i c work of g i f t e d a m a t e u r s i s t h e p u r v i e w of a l l a r c h i v e s i n e v e r y r e g i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y . \" 2 3 Many r e p o s i t o r i e s (some b u s i n e s s a r c h i v e s , f o r example) a r e not i n f a c t o b l i g e d to c o l l e c t p r i v a t e m a t e r i a l . W h i l e the m a j o r i t y o f a r c h i v a l i n s t i t u t i o n s do g a t h e r b o t h o f f i c i a l and u n o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s , however, t h e r e i s some danger i n v o l v e d : u n s u r e o f t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n h e r e n t i n t h e i r two r o l e s , c u s t o d i a n s r i s k h u r l i n g t h e m s e l v e s much more e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y i n t o the c o l l e c t i o n o f p h o t o g r a p h s from the p r i v a t e s p h e r e than from the c h a r t e r e d i n s t i t u t i o n s which s p o n s o r them. A b a l a n c e s h o u l d be s o u g h t . In s p i t e o f the f a c t t h a t a r c h i v i s t s by d e f i n i t i o n have a r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o t h e i r p a r e n t a g e n c i e s , p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s have r e m a i n e d r e l a t i v e l y u n i n t e r e s t e d i n o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s . A l t h o u g h i t w i l l i n g l y i n v e s t i g a t e s amateur p h o t o g r a p h y , t h e N a t i o n a l P h o t o g r a p h y C o l l e c t i o n has not y e t a t t e m p t e d t o p u b l i s h an i n - d e p t h t r e a t m e n t o f the many 7 6 a d m i n i s t r a t i v e uses o f photography by the Government of Canada. T u r n i n g away from A r c h i v a r i a , the assessment o f p h o t o g r a p h s was w e l l t r e a t e d by a r c h i v i s t J e r r y D a v i s o n i n an i s s u e o f B.C. S t u d i e s d e v o t e d t o \"Photography and B r i t i s h Columbia.\"24 D a v i s o n a p t l y d e m o n s t r a t e d t o h i s t o r i a n s t h a t p h o t o g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n cannot be a c c e p t e d a t f a c e v a l u e , but must be seen i n l i g h t o f the p u r p o s e s , i n t e g r i t y and methods o f i t s c r e a t o r s . In the same volume, which was e d i t e d by J o a n S c h w a r t z , o t h e r government a r c h i v i s t s c o n t i n u e d t o pursue t h e i r i n t e r e s t i n h i s t o r i c a l r a t h e r than a r c h i v a l i s s u e s . J o a n Schwartz and L i l l y K o l t u n i n t e r p r e t e d p h o t o g r a p h s o f a f r o n t i e r town, Andrew B i r r e l l d e s c r i b e d s u r v e y photography i n B.C., and D a v i d M a t t i s o n o f the P r o v i n c i a l A r c h i v e s o f B r i t i s h C olumbia c o m p i l e d a s h o r t a n n o t a t e d b i b l i o g r a p h y and a l a r g e r l i s t o f p u b l i c a t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o the h i s t o r y o f photography i n the r e g i o n . To r e p e a t an e a r l i e r p o i n t , much o f t h i s work c o u l d have been g e n e r a t e d by h i s t o r i a n s . A r c h i v a l e x p e r t i s e was not r e q u i r e d . W h i l e the c o n t r i b u t i n g a r c h i v i s t s d i d b r i n g t o t h e i r s u b j e c t s a s t r o n g awareness o f the i m p o r t a n c e o f c r e a t o r s and c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f c r e a t i o n , t hey sometimes exceeded t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l o b l i g a t i o n t o make a v a i l a b l e p h o t o g r a p h i c r e c o r d s a l o n g w i t h a minimum amount o f background i n f o r m a t i o n , i n s t e a d a c t i n g as s c h o l a r s by 77 u s i n g p h o t o g r a p h s as s o u r c e m a t e r i a l f o r t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f h i s t o r y and t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f p a s t s o c i a l v a l u e s . I n a r e v i e w o f t h i s g r o u p o f a r t i c l e s , h i s t o r i a n D o u g l a s C o l e a p p l a u d e d t h e a r c h i v i s t s i n v o l v e d : A r c h i v i s t s have been i n t h e v a n g u a r d o f h i s t o r i c a l p h o t o g r a p h i c s t u d i e s i n C anada. Not c o n t e n t t o a w a i t h i s t o r i a n s and o t h e r s t o d i s c o v e r t h e c a c h e s o f i m a g es c o l l e c t e d and p r e s e r v e d i n t h e i r r e p o s i t o r i e s , t h e y have f o r g e d ahead w i t h t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f C a n a d i a n p h o t o g r a p h y . 2 5 C o l e a l s o c i t e d t h e s u p e r b b o o k s a b o u t f r o n t i e r p h o t o g r a p h e r s p r o d u c e d by Andrew B i r r e l l and R i c h a r d H u y d a . 2 ^ W h i l e an h i s t o r i a n m i g h t a p p r o v e , f r o m an a r c h i v i s t ' s p o i n t o f v i e w i t i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h e a t t e n t i o n g i v e n t o o f f i c i a l h o l d i n g s i s v e r y f a r f r o m e q u a l t o t h e e n e r g y w h i c h was d i r e c t e d i n t o t h e s e b o o k s and a f l u r r y o f r e v i e w s o f s c h o l a r l y books u t i l i z i n g h i s t o r i c a l p h o t o g r a p h s ( i n c l u d i n g r e v i e w s by C l a u d e M i n o t t o , D a v i d M a t t i s o n , R i c h a r d Huyda, E l i z a b e t h B l i g h t , Andrew B i r r e l l and Andrew R o g e r ) . 2 7 Each o f t h e s e r e v i e w s , p r i n t e d i n A r c h i v a r i a , was w r i t t e n by an a r c h i v i s t r e s p o n s i b l e f o r o f f i c i a l g o v e r n m e n t r e c o r d s . F i n a l l y , a g l a n c e a t t h e l i t e r a t u r e on a p p r a i s a l p u b l i s h e d by A m e r i c a n p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s b r i n g s f u r t h e r d i s a p p o i n t m e n t . The s t r o n g a d m i n i s t r a t i v e v a l u e o f 78 photography has simply not been acknowledged. Since the f i r s t a r t i c l e about photographic records appeared in American A r c h i v i s t in 1950, the appra isa l of photographs has been viewed almost e n t i r e l y from a scho la r l y point of view. Hermine Baumhofer, an a r c h i v i s t for the A i r Force, did at l e a s t observe that the content of o f f i c i a l photographs i s re lated to the funct ions of the agency creat ing them.28 g n e be l ieved , however, that research use of such records would be made b a s i c a l l y by h i s t o r i a n s , s o c i o l o g i s t s , genealog is ts , p u b l i c i s t s , and pr i vate manufacturers. P o t e n t i a l admin is t rat i ve app l i ca t ions beyond p u b l i c i t y were not a n t i c i p a t e d . Instead, she described reference requests o r i g i n a t i n g outside of the agency, invo lv ing images of such s p e c i f i c subjects as a p rope l lo r s h a f t , the growth of a f r o n t i e r town or s o i l erosion in a given area.29 In 1958, a r c h i v i s t Joe Thomas a lso tackled the subject of a r c h i v a l photographs, suggesting that not every document created should be preserved, and wisely i n d i c a t i n g that records management i s as necessary for photographs as for tex tua l records.30 He recommended appra isa l on the basis of both informat ional and aesthet ic va lues. Along with Baumhofer, though, Thomas did not delve into the var ie ty of admin is t ra t i ve reasons for preserving photographic records. In 1965, two a r t i c l e s by custodians of corporate photographs appeared in Spec ia l L i b r a r i e s . Betty Hale of the 79 Pub l i c Relat ions Department of Socony Mobil O i l regarded photography as a too l for r e l a t i n g the h is to ry of a company as we l l as a usefu l element in adver t i s ing campaigns, annual reports and newslet ters .31 Irene Simpson of the History Room of Wells Fargo Bank a lso emphasized the pub l i c r e l a t i o n s value of v i s u a l images, o f f e r i n g photographs of miners, stagecoaches and h i s t o r i c a l landscapes to commercial a r t i s t s , publ ishers and t e l e v i s i o n producers. Again, neither author was aware of the other serious admin is t rat ive uses of the medium.32 A r c h i v i s t Paul Vanderb i l t produced a l e a f l e t on the evaluat ion of photographs for the Society of American A r c h i v i s t s in 1979, assessing photographic records in h i s t o r i c a l and aesthet ic terms: \"What const i tu tes h i s t o r i c a l value? R a r i t y . . . s t r i k i n g imagery . . . a r t i s t i c i n t e r e s t . . . h i s t o r i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t i n d i v i d u a l s . . . \" 3 3 whi le he did make reference to \" a r c h i v a l photographs in the c l a s s i c a l sense of records of o f f i c i a l agencies with some l e g a l s t a t u s , \" he made the astonishing assumption that involvement with such records would be beyond the ro le of the a r c h i v i s t , recommending that o f f i c i a l records with on-going admin is t ra t i ve value be l e f t to \" o r i g i n a t o r s \" to handle.34 Vanderb i l t bel ieved that creators would themselves i d e n t i f y and r e t a i n any photograph of permanent va lue , a stance which opposes a commonly held b e l i e f that an a r c h i v i s t i s 80 r e p o n s i b l e f o r h e l p i n g to d e t e r m i n i n g on-going i n f o r m a t i o n a l and e v i d e n t i a l v a l u e s f o r both the c r e a t i n g agency and o u t s i d e r e s e a r c h e r s . The most r e c e n t a r t i c l e on a r c h i v a l photographs to appear, p u b l i s h e d i n 1983, was w r i t t e n by M i l d r e d Simpson of the A t l a n t i c R i c h f i e l d C o r p o r a t i o n . 3 5 j n a n o w f a m i l i a r p a t t e r n , she i n d i c a t e d t h a t the company's photograph c o l l e c t i o n forms p a r t of a p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s u n i t which produces i n f o r m a t i o n f o r both employees and s h a r e h o l d e r s . Simpson d e s c r i b e d an automated system d e v i s e d f o r c o n t r o l of the c o l l e c t i o n , but d i d not d e l v e i n t o the i s s u e of a p p r a i s a l . In c o n c l u s i o n , i t has become c l e a r t h a t a l t h o u g h a d m i n i s t r a t i v e use of photography i s growing, n o t a b l y i n the l e g a l sphere, p h o t o g r a p h i c a r c h i v i s t s have c o n t i n u e d to f o c u s almost e n t i r e l y upon the p u b l i c i t y v a l u e and the s c h o l a r l y use of both o f f i c i a l l y and u n o f f i c i a l l y produced m a t e r i a l . In f u t u r e , i n o r d e r to apply a d e q u a t e l y the a r c h i v a l p r i n c i p l e of provenance to the r e c o r d s c r e a t e d by t h e i r s p o n s o r i n g b o d i e s , they w i l l need to show a g r e a t e r i n t e r e s t i n working both w i t h o r i g i n a t o r s and w i t h a r c h i v i s t s of t e x t u a l r e c o r d s and o t h e r r e l a t e d media to e s t a b l i s h t h o u g h t f u l r e c o r d s management and a r c h i v a l programs. 81 Footnotes Chapter Six 1 Schel lenberg , Management of Arch ives , p.324. 2 B r i c h f o r d , Appra isa l and Access ioning , pp. 3 - 4 . 3 I b i d . 4 Ralph E . Ehrenberg, \"Aural and Graphic Archives and Manuscr ipts ,\" Drexel L ib rary Quarter ly 11 (1975): pp. 55 -71. 5 M i t c h e l l , Norton on Arch ives , p. 255. 6 Hugh A. Tay lor , \"Documentary A r t , \" pp. 417-428. 7 I b i d . , pp. 420-426. 8 Cook, \"Tyranny of the Medium,\" pp. 141-144. 9 I b i d . 1° Claude Minotto , A r c h i v i s t and the Photograph. H Peter Robertson, \"More Than Meets the Eye,\" A rch i va r ia no.2 (1976): pp. 42-43. 12 Huyda, \"Photographs and Arch ives , \" p. 6. 13 For d e f i n i t i o n s of informat ional and e v i d e n t i a l va lue , see Rofes, \"A Basic G lossary . \" 14 Andrew B i r r e l l , \"The Tyranny of T r a d i t i o n , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 10 (1980). 15 i b i d . , p. 25. 16 Joan M. Schwartz, \"The Photographic Record of Pre-Confederat ion B . C . , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978). 17 Klaus B. Hendricks, \"The Preservat ion of Photographic Records\"; David Mattison and Saundra Sherman, \"Cataloguing H i s t o r i c a l Photographs with ISBD (NBM)\"; Linda Johnson, \"Yukon Archives V i sua l Photograph Finding A i d , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978). 1 8 Koltun et a l . , \"The Photograph: An Annotated Bibl iography for A r c h i v i s t s , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978). 82 19 Peter Robertson, \"The A l l - P e n e t r a t i n g ' X ' , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 10 (1980); Peter Robertson and Glenn T. Wright, \"Photographic In te r lude , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 15 (1983). 20 See Sidney R. Bergquist , ed. , New Webster's D ict ionary of the Engl ish Language: Canadian Ed i t ion (Chicago: Consolidated Book Pub l i shers , 1975; Wi l lowdale, Ontar io : Nelson, Foster and Sco t t , 1975). 21 Andre B i r r e l l , \"From A c q u i s i t i o n to E x h i b i t i o n \" ; Andrew B i r r e l l , Peter Robertson, L i l l y Ko l tun , Andrew Rodger and Joan Schwartz, \"On View: the Evolut ion of Amateur Photography\"; Ann Thomas, \"Ref lec t ions on an E x h i b i t i o n , \" A r c h i v a r i a no. 17 (1984); L i l l y Ko l tun , P r i va te Realms of L i g h t : A Se lec t i ve History of Amateur Photography in Canada (Toronto: F i tzhenry and Whiteside, 1984). 22 B i r r e l l , et a l . , \"On View,\" p. 115. 23 see e d i t o r ' s foreword to B i r r e l l , \"From A c q u i s i t i o n to E x h i b i t i o n , \" p. 106. 24 Davison, \"Turning a B l ind Eye.\" 25 Douglas Co le , review of Joan Schwartz, e d . , \"The Past In Focus: Photography and B r i t i s h Columbia,\" A r c h i v a r i a no. 14 (1982): p. 187. 26 Andrew B i r r e l l and Ralph G r e e n h i l l , Canadian Photography: 1839-1920 (Toronto: Coach House Press , 1979); Richard J . Huyda, Camera in the I n t e r i o r , 1858: The Ass in ibo ine and Saskatchewan Explor ing Expedit ion (Toronto: Coach House Press , 1975). 27 see, for example, Clause Minotto , reviw of Robert F. Harney and Harold Troper, Immigrants: A P o r t r a i t of the Urban Experience, 1890-1930 (Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold , 1975; A r c h i v a r i a no. 4 (1977); Richard Huyda, reviews of Richard Vroom, Old New Brunswick: A V i c t o r i a n P o r t r a i t (Toronto: Oxford Un ivers i ty Press , 1978); Tony Cashman, A P i c t u r e History of A lber ta (Edmonton: H u r t i g , 1979); Roger Ha l l and Gordon Dodds, A P ic tu re History of Ontario (Edmonton: H u r t i g , 1978); David Matt ison , reviews of Andrew B i r r e l l , Benjamin B u l t z l y : Photographs and Journal of an Expedit ion through B r i t i s h Columbia, 1871 (Toronto: Coach House Press , 1978); Carole Harmon, e d . , Great Days in the Rockies: The Photographs of Byron Harmon, 1906-1934 (Toronto: Oxford Un ivers i ty Press , 1978); A r c h i v a r i a no. 9 (1980); E l i zabeth B l i g h t , review of Richard J . Huyda, Camera In the I n t e r i o r , A r c h i v a r i a no. 2 (1976); Andrew B i r r e l l , 83 review of E.O. Janis and Wendy MacNei l , Photography Within the Humanities (New Hampshire: Addison, 1977); A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1978); Andrew Rodger, review of Canadian Women's Studies 2 (1980) A r c h i v a r i a no. 11 (1981). 28 Hermine M. Baumhofer, \"Some Reference Problems of P ic tu re C o l l e c t i o n s , \" American A r c h i v i s t 13 (1950): p. 122. 29 i b i d . , p. 123. 3 0 Joe D. Thomas, \"Photographic Arch ives , \" American A r c h i v i s t 21 (1958): p. 420. 31 Betty Hale, \"P ic tures in Your Company's Arch ives , \" Spec ia l L i b r a r i e s 56 (1965). 3 2 Irene Simpson, \"P ic tu res for Publ ic R e l a t i o n s , \" Spec ia l L i b r a r i e s 56 (1965). 3 3 Paul Vanderb i l t , \"evaluat ing H i s t o r i c a l Photographs: A Personal Perspect i ve , \" History News 34 (1979): pp. 279-80. 3 4 I b i d . , p. 284. 3 5 Mildred Simpson, \"Photographs In a Business S e t t i n g : A t l a n t i c R i c h f i e l d Company,\" American A r c h i v i s t 45 (1982 ) . 84 B i b l i o g r a p h y G e n e r a l Adams, A n s e l and N e w h a l l , Nancy. T h i s I s the American E a r t h . San F r a n c i s c o : S i e r r a C l u b , 1960. B e r g e r , John and Mohr, Jean. Another Way of T e l l i n g . New York: Pantheon Books, 1982. Bourke-White, Margaret. Halfway to Freedom: A Report on the New I n d i a i n the Words and Photographs of Margaret Bourke-White. New York: Simon and S c h u s t e r , 1949. Gernsheim, Helmut. J u l i a Margaret Cameron; Her L i f e and P h o t o g r a p h i c Work. M i l l e r t o n , New York: A p e r t u r e , 1975. Gordon, C o l i n . A R i c h e r Dust: Echoes From an Edwardian Album. New York and P h i l a d e l p h i a : J.B. L i p p i n c o t t , 1978. Harper, J . R u s s e l l and T r i g g s , S t a n l e y . P o r t r a i t of a P e r i o d : A C o l l e c t i o n of Notman Photographs, 1856-1915. M o n t r e a l : M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967. K a r s h , Yousuf. Karsh Canadians. Toronto: U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto P r e s s , 1978. Norman, Dorothy. A l f r e d S t i e g l i t z : An American Seer. New York: Random House, 1973. S c h a r f , Aaron. A r t and Photography. London: Penguin, 1968. S t e i c h e n , Edward. A L i f e i n Photography. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1981 . S t e i c h e n , Edward, ed. The B i t t e r Y e a r s , 1935-1941: R u r a l America as Seen by the P h o t o g r a p h e r s of the Farm S e c u r i t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n . New York: Museum of Modern A r t , 1962. Ullmann, L i v . Changing. U.S.A. and Canada: A l f r e d Knopf, 1976; Bantam, 1978. Whitehead, A.N. S c i e n c e and the Modern World. London: L o w e l l L e c t u r e S e r i e s , 1925. 85 History of Photography Gernsheim, Helmut and Gernsheim, A l i s o n . The History of Photography from the Camera Obscura to the Beginning of the Modern Era . London and New York: Oxford Univers i ty Press , 1955. G r e e n h i l l , Ralph A. Ear ly Photography in Canada. Toronto: Oxford Un ivers i ty Press , 1955. Langford, Michael . The Story of Photography: From I ts Beginnings to the Present Day. London and New York: Focal Press , 1980. Newhal l , Beaumont. The History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present Day. 7th ed. New York: Museum of Modern A r t , 1981. Newhall , Beaumont and Newhall , Nancy. Masters of Photography. New York: A and W Pub l i shers , 1958. P o l l a c k , Peter . The P ic tu re History of Photography: From the E a r l i e s t Beginnings to the Present Day. New York: Harry Abrams, 19 58. R u d i s i l l , R ichard . Mi r ror Image: The Influence of the Daguerrotype on American Soc ie ty . Albuquerque: Un ivers i t y of New Mexico Press , 1971. Talbot , Wi l l iam Henry Fox. The Penc i l of Nature. New York: Da Capo Press , 1969. We l l i ng , Wi l l iam B. Photography in America: The Formative Years, 1839-1900. New York: C rowe l l , 1978. Nature and Uses of Photography Arnheim, Rudolf . V i s u a l Th ink ing . Berkeley: Un ivers i ty of C a l i f o r n i a Press , 1969. Barthes, Roland. Translated by Richard Howard. Camera Luc ida : Ref lec t ions on Photography. New York: H i l l and Wang, 1981; Toronto: McGraw-Hil l Ryerson, 1981. Brumf ie ld , John. \"A good milk cow i s not a h e l i c o p t e r , and that is a f a c t . \" Photo Communique 2 (1980): 30-38. Freund, G i s e l e . Photography and Soc iety . Boston: D.R. Godine, 1980. 86 G o l d b e r g , V i c k i , ed. Photography i n P r i n t ; W r i t i n g s from 1816 to the P r e s e n t . New York: Simon and S c h u s t e r , 1981 . Jacobs, D a v i d . \"Domestic Snapshots: Toward a Grammar of M o t i v e s . \" J o u r n a l of American C u l t u r e 4 (1981): 99-109. James, G e o f f r e y . \"Responding to Photographs.\" A r t s Canada no. 192 (1974): 1-36. McLuhan, M a r s h a l l . U n d e r s t a n d i n g Media. London, New York and Toronto: M c G r a w - H i l l Book Co., 1964. Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: D e l l P u b l i s h i n g , 1977. Wollheim, P e t e r . \" C r i t i c a l I s s u e s : A Look at Values i n P h o t o g r a p h i c C r i t i c i s m . \" Photo Communique 4 (1982): 26-30. 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Schwartz, Joan. \"The Past in Focus: Photography and B r i t i s h Columbia, 1858-1914.\" B.C. Studies no. 52 (1982): 5 -15. Schwartz, Joan. \"The Photographic Record of Pre-Confederat ion B.C.\" A r c h i v a r i a no. 5 (1977): 17-44. Seely Sprague, S tuar t . \"Is a P ic ture Worth a Thousand Words? How to Develop a P i c t o r i a l H i s to ry . \" History News 38 (1983 ) : 15-17. T r iggs , Stanley G. \"Alexander Henderson: Nineteenth-Century Landscape Photographer.\" A r c h i v a r i a no 5 (1978): 45-59. "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0095918"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "History"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "Analyzing photographs in archival terms"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24387"@en .