1099
and the Woodburytype photomechanical process. Since
Vidal primarily reproduced works of fi ne and decorative
art —rather than scenes from nature—it was diffi cult for
the observer to determine the resulting accuracy.
Throughout the 19th century, the manual transcrip-
tion of photographic originals to form a variety of
graphic illustrations to place. This to a degree masks the
medium’s impact. While the Illustrated London News
prominently credited those illustrations that were after
photographs, other publications did not. One of the pri-
mary reasons for manual transcription was one of speed
and cost. Publications working within strict timescales
exploited cheap labour to create graphic illustrations
based on photographs. The rise of photomechanical
processes—particularly during the 1870s—greatly in-
creased photographic reproduction during the last two
decades of the 19th century. However, it is not always
easy to identify such productions. Simple line drawing
illustrations were frequently not credited as being pro-
duced by photomechanical processes. At the other ex-
treme, from the early 1870s the French engraver Amand
Durand (1831–1905) produced a series of ‘facsimile’
heliogravures of drawings, etchings and engravings
by the Old Masters which were so accurate that it was
reported that a ‘distinguishing mark’ had been placed
next to his ‘deceptive copies.’
Photographic reproduction was applied to a number
of areas of 19th century science. Light and colour theory
and astronomy were greatly aided by the introduction
of photometry and the work of William de Wiveleslie
Abney (1844–1920).
Medical photography provided the capability to docu-
ment and reproduce diseases, abnormalities and clinical
conditions. These ranged from such as diseases of the
skin, through surgical procedures to Dr Hugh Welch
Diamond’s photographs of the insane—taken from the
late 1840s- that were also used to develop diagnostic
techniques. Photographs frequently were transcribed into
engraved medical illustrations. Thousands of photographs
of pathological specimens and soldiers wounded in the
American Civil War were used to provide illustrations for
monumental six volume The Medical and Surgical His-
tory of the War of the Rebellion published in Washington,
D.C., between 1870 and 1888.
The second half of the 19th century saw an explo-
sion in scholarship in every conceivable academic
discipline. Numerous societies and institutions were
formed to represent these interests, whether in a pro-
fessional and amateur capacity. Many of these not only
formed photographic collections but also encouraged
the photographic reproduction of pertinent objects and
artefacts. In some instances 19th century local history
and architectural societies joined with photographic
societies to achieve their aims. The publications of
these societies and illustrations were another channel by
which photographic reproduction had a major infl uence
on the dissemination of knowledge and the promotion
of scholarship.
In the autumn of 1839 John Benjamin Dancer (1812–
1887) made the fi rst microphotograph on a Daguerrotype
plate at 160X reduction. Photomicrography became
increasingly used in the second half of the 19th century in
fi elds such as botany and entomology. During the Franco-
Prussian War of 1870, the microphotographs of the
Frenchman Prudent René-Patrice Dagron (1819–1900)
were exploited to provide a mail service to and from Paris
while the city was under siege. Some 115,000 messages
were allegedly transmitted in this way. Such uses also
formed the early use of microphotography for purposes
of spying and transmitting illicit messages, an applica-
tion suggested by Dancer in the mid 1850s. In the 1880s
Robert Koch (1843–1910) made microphotography a
central tool of bacteriology. During the 20th century
the microfi lm became a key technology to distribute
information and knowledge.
By the end of the 19th century, photography and
photomechanical processes had largely eliminated the
requirement for labour intensive manual printmaking
methods for the production of utilitarian botanical il-
lustrations. Related to this is the matter of the change in
contexts. In the 1880s, the Harvard botanist Asa Gray
(1810–1888) purchased large photographic prints taken
by Carleton Watkins (1829–1916) on a California State
Geological Survey, to augment the Gray Herbarium.
Gray formerly acquired these images as botanical il-
lustration, though today Watkins’ images are primarily
viewed within the context of their aesthetic value.
Photography was used to document manufactures
and produce in-house records or advertising materials
and illustrated catalogue for a wide range of industries.
By the early 1860s photos replaced drawings in the
china manufacturer Minton company pattern books.
From the 1870s the Baldwin Locomotive Works of
Philadelphia began publishing photographically il-
lustrated catalogues.
During the last third of the 19th century photography
began to have a signifi cant commercial impact on the
various components of the industry. The construction
industry the works of architects, architectural masons,
manufacturers of decorative fi xtures and fi ttings, etc.
were all photographically reproduced. In 1872, a critic
writing on the industrial results of photography pointed
to the savings being made through the effi cient use of
photography. “Does a builder require a number of metal
brackets from Birmingham? Instead of having to incur
the delay and expense of attending the transmission of
a specimen from the manufacturer, he receives by return
of post a photograph of the article wanted, and gives his
order accordingly.”
Anthony Hamber