Photography Arrives

San Antonio de Valero. Albumen print. Ca. 1877. From: San Antonio Guide and West Texas Directory for 1877. Garza and McKernan, San Antonio, [1877]. The missions of west Texas provided colonial settlers with a spiritual center and protection from Indian raids. San Antonio de Valero, commonly called the Alamo, was constructed in 1744, and was almost a century old at the time of the famous battle. Now a restored National Park site in the middle of a city, early photographs provided an invaluable reference to the condition of the structure closer in time to its origin.

Colonial Photography—Viewfinder on the Past Photography arrives	By 1850, photography was an established popular phenomenon in North America, with professionals and amateurs taking photos across much of the country. This new media had the innate ability to accurately record the appearance of physical reality. Although never a completely objective medium, photography has and can still describe aspects missed by written or other visual media. The look of the then "modern world" was a frequent subject, with surviving remnants of colonial America also in front of many cameras. These images, whether captured by accident or by deliberate efforts, speak to us about their colonial origins, current state of condition, and changes in use and surrounding environs. Radnor Church. Salt print. Ca. 1858. In a grangerized copy of The Cow Chase; a Poem in Three Cantos by Major General John André ... St. David's Church at Radnor, Pennsylvania was built in 1715 by Welsh colonists. In 1809 General Anthony Wayne's remains were interred here. In 1829 a conflict within the congregation arose over the appropriateness of remodeling the Spartan interior. It survived an attempt by members to demolish it in 1835 and still stands today. Taken in the 1850s, this may be the earliest photographic image of this structure. Virginia Inland Waterway Photo Album. Albumen print. Ca. 1895. Prior to the 19th century, rivers provided irrigation, transportation, and communication links with the rest of the world. Access to country estates was often provided by water. The intrusion of canals, railroads, and paved roads permanently disrupted the relationship between houses and the surrounding land and rivers. This photo, taken from the James River, shows the approach to Berkeley Plantation, birthplace of William Henry Harrison, just as it would have appeared a century earlier. Today, a levee blocks the view and isolates the house.
Hancock House, an Original Sun Picture. Salt print. From: Homes of American Statesmen. G.P. Putnam & Co. New York. 1854. The first photographically illustrated book published in America featured the soon to be demolished home of patriot leader John Hancock.
San Antonio de Valero. Albumen print. Ca. 1877. From: San Antonio Guide and West Texas Directory for 1877. Garza and McKernan, San Antonio, [1877]. The missions of west Texas provided colonial settlers with a spiritual center and protection from Indian raids. San Antonio de Valero, commonly called the Alamo, was constructed in 1744, and was almost a century old at the time of the famous battle. Now a restored National Park site in the middle of a city, early photographs provided an invaluable reference to the condition of the structure closer in time to its origin.
Old Morris House. Albumen print. ca.1895. From Adirondack Region Photo Album. The Morris House, near Clifton, New York, as it appeared in 1895 with many of its colonial features intact.