Sleep is good, books are better
This is supposed to be a fun post, not serious research. However it is based on something that I'm interested in, the idea of the doppelganger (a ghostly double). See my previous post, 'Rossetti and the doppelgängers'. Every now and then, when looking at Long Victorian photographs and paintings, I see a face that immediately... Continue Reading →
This woman was born in 1746 and could easily have met someone able to say "My grandfather knew William Shakespeare". This is a Daguerreotype photograph of Hannah Stilley, aged 94 (b.1746). This is a woman born into a world when the American colonies were yet to revolt, when Samuel Johnson was working on his A... Continue Reading →
Could this be the first "selfie" in history? It is an 1839 self portrait of Robert Cornelius (1809 –1893). On the reverse of the photo it reads 'The first light picture ever taken'. What pose would you assume if you thought that posterity might stare back at you for eons into the future? Cornelius was... Continue Reading →
Life in the Long 19th Century Photograph taken in 1844 by David Octavius Hill (b. 1802 - 1870) The photographer is shown on the right, keeping his subjects relaxed - James Ballantine (left) and Dr George Bell (middle). Bell was one of the commissioners of the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 and author of Day... Continue Reading →
Here are the answers to the photo puzzle I put up recently. A. Unknown young woman from Queensland, Australia (1884). B. Nicole Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady (film, 1996). C. Eva Green in Penny Dreadful (TV drama, 2014) D. Unknown young woman photographed using orthochromatic film. Date not known but possibly taken in... Continue Reading →
Life in the Long Nineteenth Century Photograph #2 1838: The first human on film (bottom, left). A street in Paris. Photograph by Louis Daguerre. The street looks empty. Perhaps the long exposure time required meant that anything moving isn't captured on the photo. Just one person (posing for the camera?) obtains immortality. For context the... Continue Reading →
How about a fun little puzzle? Photographs of four women. In no particular order they are: 1. Nicole Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady (film, 1996). 2. Eva Green in Penny Dreadful (TV drama, 2014) 3. Unknown young woman from Queensland, Australia (1884). 4. Unknown young woman photographed using orthochromatic film. Date not known... Continue Reading →
Life in the Long Nineteenth Century Photograph #1 1913: The family of Mervyn O'Gorman, an enthusiastic amateur photographer. A picnic in Dorset, England. Early colour Autochrome Lumière. The long exposure time required may explain the slightly bored looks. For context the following were published in 1913: Fiction Arnold Bennett – The Regent Algernon Blackwood –... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 