Photomechanical printing in europe in the mid-19th century: history, theory, visual culture, science and the international network in the 1840s-1860s
The project examines the pioneering era of photomechanical printing as a fundamental part of history of photography, art, science and modern visual culture. It focuses on the first three decades of development of photomechanical technologies, i.e. the era between the introduction of photography in the late 1830s and the outset of industrial mass-production of photography-based images in the 1860s. It centres on the UK, France and the Austrian Empire, as countries which played leading parts in the photomechanical research and practice from the 1840s onwards. Considering the state of the art of existing scholarship, as well as the amount and variety of preserved sources, the research will comprise collection and archival surveys, visual, material and contextual analysis and interpretation of original objects (prints and matrices), as well as close reading of correspondence, manuscripts and period publications. In order to understand the circumstances and cultural contexts in which different photomechanical technologies emerged and developed, the project will also look at social structures and networks of inventors, supporters, critics, and users. Great attention will be paid to theoretical period discussions on potential and the future of photomechanical printing. More elaborate knowledge of these phenomena will help to understand not only history of photography, but also history of art and science, and to consider more carefully different perspectives on development of photography-based technology and its interpretation. Through close collaboration with the supervisor and the partner institutions, the fellow will be able to extend her research beyond history of photography, and to enhance her complex research capacities, inter-sectoral collaboration, networking, leadership, managerial and publication skills. Advanced training through research, dissemination and communication activities will contribute significantly to the fellow’s professional and career development.