From our large collection of photographs and graphics, assembled over more than 30 years, we supply a custom service for high resolution digital images to writers, web designers, educators, and publishers. We do not have a database of images but you may view web pages that feature areas of our collection to see examples of the kinds of images we can offer. Send an email inquiry describing the images you seek and their uses. We will respond with examples that might meet your needs and the cost for high resolution files on a CD or by FTP transfer and publication rights. Photographers
Pictured | Spirit
Photography | Post
Mortem and Memorial Photographs | Special
People |
|
| Photographers Pictured | |
| An area of special emphasis in the collection is the depiction of the photographer from the introduction of the medium in 1839 to the advent of the snapshot era. The relationship of the medium of photography and the photographer with society fascinates us. We have a wide selection of images in photographs, cartoons, sheet music, valentines, postcards, and objects. Examples can be found in the Images of Photographers section, the Post Card section, as well as other areas of our Photographic Collection. |  |
| Spirit Photography | |
| In
the middle of the 19th century the spread of photography was paralleled
with a growing interest in the paranormal and spiritualism.
Many practitioners saw "proof" of
the existence of spirits in photographs. Photographic seances and
demonstrations of "photographing
the invisible" became a familiar fixture for the rest of the
century.
Our collection includes both "serious" spirit photographs by photographers like Mumler and Boursnell, that were presented as "real", as well as more lighthearted examples that were made to amuse. Included are carde-de-visites, cabinet cards, post cards, stereo views, and a very rare spirit tintype. A selection of the available images can be seen in our section on spirit photography. |
 |
| Post Mortem and Memorial Photographs | |
In the 19th century infant mortality was very high and many children were lost before a photograph could be made. Childbirth took many young women and epidemics of disease could decimate entire families. It was not uncommon for the photographer to be called when a family member was near death or had died. Post Mortem photographs and memorial objects with photographs are a haunting window on the way the era dealt with grief and remembrance. Our collection includes daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tin types, and paper photographs as well as memorial objects and jewelry. Memento Mori is the section of our site that shows some of our images. |
 |
| Special People | |
In the less enlightened days of the 19th and early 20th centuries those who were "different" from most people; smaller, larger, with unusual physical characteristics were called "freaks". They appeared in numerous "dime museums" like P.T. Barnum's American Museum, circuses, and side shows. We have photographs of bearded ladies, a leggless man, human skeleton, giant, and other "special people" as well as Tom Thumb and other midgets from the 19th century. |
 |
| Camera Obscura Images and Instruments | |
| The primary focus of our research and collecting is the history and development of the camera obscura (from the Latin for "dark room"). Our web site "The Magic Mirror of Life" features prints and photographs of camera obscura, both fixed and portable, from our collection. We also have photographs of a number of camera obscura instruments including a very rare French drawing camera with its original supplies. |  |
| Optical Toys, Motion Instruments, and Images | |
From our study of the history and development of photography and cinema we learned of the importance of optical and motion toys. These were called "philosophical toys". Our collection includes magic lanterns, Zoetropes (wheel of life), Praxinoscopes, a Phenakistoscope, Polyrama Panoptique, Kinora, Mutoscope, Thaumatropes, and flip books. We also have magic lantern slides, disks and strips for the motion toys, and graphics illustrating the use of the instruments. |
 |
| Portraits of 19th Century Men, Women, and Children - The Famous and the Everyday | |
One of the driving forces in the development and popularization of photography was the desire for cheap and accurate portraits. The enormous number of portrait photographs that have survived show us the faces of the past in wonderful variety. Men, women, children, family groups, the middle class, and the famous have left their images for us to study. In addition to a large number of portraits in daguerreotype, ambrotype, tintype, and paper prints of individuals and families we have sub sets of Eugen Sandow and other strong men/women and a large group of cabinet cards of ladies of the 19th century theatre. |
 |
| Phrenology - The Study of Head Shape to Predict Personality | |
| We have collected a variety of books, periodicals, and ephemera dealing with phrenology and related "sciences" as well as several phrenology heads. In addition to the vintage material, Jack has made several series of black & white and color photographs of arrangements of modern phrenology heads and palmistry hands. |  |
| History, Travel, and Everyday Life of the Past | |
Because of the difficulty of reproducing photographs for much of the 19th century newspapers and books relied on hand draw illustrations. There were however great quantities photographs produced of historical events and places. Many of these were in the double image of stereoscopic cards. World fairs, wars, political events, and the funerals of the famous found their way into the Victorian parlor. Among our thousands of stereo views this history is well represented. In addition to albumen travel prints and genre subjects, stereoscopic cards were also made in cities, small towns, and foreign lands. These are original photographs that document many cities and countries from the 1850s to the early 20th century. The Victorians were avid travelers and before snapshot photography made everyone a photographer the demand for mementos of the places visited was supplied by professional photographers who sold prints to fill the albums of travelers. We can supply 19th century images of many American cities, Europe, Asia, the Holy Land, and Egypt. |
 |
| Contact Information | |
Contact us by email at: pasttense@brightbytes.com For an overview of our collections, including areas not covered on this page, visit the site map for Collection of Collections web site. © 2007 Bright Bytes Studio update: 6/2007 |
|