Alexander Gardner, General Ulysses S. Grant, 1864–1865. This is a digital positive generated from the 17 x 20 glass wet-plate collodian negative.

Dain Tasker, Poppy (or Snails), c. 1955. Tasker x-rayed mostly flowers, but occasionally x-rayed hands and snails. Gift of William and Olive Frauenberger.

Gertrude Kasebier, Native American and drawing.  In 1900, photographer Gertrude Kasebier invited members of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show to be photographed at her New York City studio. While waiting for her to make very thoughtful and sensitive portraits, they kept themselves occupied by drawing.  Here, the portrait of the artist is attached to his drawing.

Jerry Uelsman, April is the Cruelest Month (2nd version), 1967. In the 1960s, Uelsman revived the practice of combination printing, and brought contemporary meaning to the technique. A single sheet of paper is exposed to a number of negatives, creating a unique image.

Paul Outerbridge, Jr., Cheese and Crackers (for McCall’s), 1940s. In the 1930s, Outerbridge moved from the highly stylized photographs of the 1920s to the new, highly color saturated and laborious process of color-carbro printing. A number of commercial photographers switched to this process, because, as the advertisers discovered, color sells.

Underwood & Underwood, The New Woman – Wash Day (stereograph), 1904. Stereographs were a highly popular form of home entertainment from the 1860s–1920s.  Not only did they allow families to travel the world from their parlors, they also reflected social and cultural shifts affecting the viewers’ lives.

General Electric advertisement for “Self-reflecting Photoflood Lamp, With Black Neck”, press release photo from Feb. 12, 1940, from Science Service file.