1348
The latter resulted in the construction of an apparatus
that he called the ‘universal camera’ and which was an
improvement on his 8 × 10 Kinnear camera.
Stillman’s most signifi cant contribution to the history
of photography is a body of work of the antiquities of
Athens. These photographs were taken in 1869 when
he was forced to leave the island of Crete and advised
to stay in the capital of the Greek State. The series of
images taken that year resulted in the publication of
an illustrated album entitled Acropolis of Athens, Il-
lustrated Picturesquely and Architecturally in photog-
raphy published privately by F. S. Ellis, in 1870. This
large format album is bound with a red maroon leather
cover and contains a total of twenty-six carbon prints.
The photographs are mounted separately on individual
sheets of card and most of them are numbered, signed
and dated. Each image is accompanied by a descrip-
tive text, printed on the opposite page, identifying the
site of the precise geographic orientation. Copies of
Stillman’s Acropolis album can be found at the British
Library, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Gennadius
Library of Athens.
Stillman’s 1869 photographs of the Grecian antiqui-
ties are characterised by sharp detail and extreme depth
of fi eld made possible by the sharpness of the Dallmeyer
lens used. They demonstrate the choice of an original
viewpoint, which reveals the architectural structure
of Classical temples with precision and the sculptural
details with accuracy. Furthermore, Stillman’s origi-
nality of visual expression is favoured by his extended
knowledge of the technical aspects of photography. The
excellent use of his technical skills, in the domains of
choosing his photographic equipment and processing
techniques, result in a unique clarity within a wide range
of focus. Additionally, the realistic representation of an-
cient ruins refl ects Stillman’s infl uence from his artistic
background and contemporary aesthetic tendencies.
As the years went by, his involvement with photogra-
phy became even more diverse. He continuously experi-
mented and improved upon photographic processes. In
1874, he published a handbook entitled The Amateur’s
Photographic Guide-Book, Being a Complete Resume of
the Most Useful Dry and Wet Collodion Processes deal-
ing with the problems of working with early processes,
especially in diffi cult terrains and climates. Addition-
ally, Stillman published, in various journals such as The
Nation, The Photographic Times and The Photographic
News, a number of articles dealing with technical issues,
commenting on the use of particular lenses and giving
examples of contemporary photographic works which
met his criteria for good practice.
In 1876, during a visit to the United States, Stillman
published another photographic album entitled Poetic
Localities of Cambridge. The album is illustrated with
heliotypes depicting the houses of Henry W. Long-
fellow and Olivier W. Holmes, Harvard College and
Washington E.L.M.. The images are accompanied by a
text written by Holmes and poems by Longfellow and
Lowel. Original copies of this volume can be found at
the Union College Library at Schenectady along with
Stillman’s personal correspondence.
Stillman never considered himself a gifted painter,
nor a talented photographer. His introduction to the
medium was almost an accident and there is evidence
to suggest that his photographic work was a fi nancial
necessity. This aspect of his career never seemed to be
of importance to him since it went almost unmentioned
in his autobiography, which he compiled just before his
death. His involvement, however, with photography
was not restricted to simple topographical documenta-
tion. Stillman’s signifi cant contribution to the medium
consisted of experiments with chemical processes,
improvements to standard photographic equipment
and the publication of articles in photographic journals
of the period on a variety of subjects from the analysis
of technical processes to the theoretical aspects of the
medium.
Aliki TsirgialouBiography
William James Stillman was born in 1828 in Sche-
nectady, New York. A naturalist, a painter attracted to
the Pre-Raphaelite circle, a diplomat and a journalist (he
published numerous articles and books covering a wide
range of subjects such as archaeology, photography and
art criticism), he took up photography in 1857. From
1855 to 1861 he published the art journal The Crayon:
A Journal Devoted to the Graphic Arts, and the Litera-
ture Related to them. During the American Civil War
he was offered the position of American Council in
Rome and three years later he was transferred to Crete.
His involvement with photography was not restricted
to simple topographical documentation. Stillman’s
signifi cant contribution to the medium consisted of
experiments with chemical processes, improvements
to standard photographic equipment and the publica-
tion of articles in photographic journals of the period
on a variety of subjects from the analysis of technical
processes to the theoretical aspects of the medium. In
1859 Stillman published his fi rst photographic album
entitled Photographic Studies by W. J. Stillman, Part- The Forest, Adirondack Woods. However, Stillman’s
most signifi cant contribution to the history of photog-
raphy is the publication of an illustrated album entitled
The Acropolis of Athens, Illustrated Picturesquely and
Architecturally in photography (F. S. Ellis, 1870). Still-
man died in England on the 6th of July 1901.