The following is the fifth in a series of guest posts by Micah Messenheimer, Associate Curator of Photography, Prints and Photographs Division, that discuss the parallel development of two technologies in the 19th century: railroads and photography. Capturing the entirety of the Central Pacific Railroad from 1864–69, photographer Alfred Hart (1816–1908) traveled east from Sacramento, …
The following is a guest post by Beverly Brannan, Curator of Photography, picking up on a thread from an earlier post about the “Not an Ostrich” exhibition in Los Angeles, California. The title of the exhibition prompts viewers to ask “What are we really looking at?” Beverly demonstrates how that question can trigger an exploration …
Many pictures come into Prints and Photographs Division collections with little or no identification on them. It’s not entirely surprising, since a portion of our collections were generated or collected by individuals who readily knew the who, what, where and when that depictions can evoke and didn’t feel compelled to write it down. But even …
The following is an interview with Shaunette Payne about some of her varied responsibilities as a Technical Services Technician in the Prints and Photographs Division. Here we discuss her work with the Division’s stereograph cards, circus posters, and offsite collections. Melissa: You and other colleagues in the technical services section are working on a project …
