David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, “Edinburgh Ale: James Ballantine, Dr George Bell and David Octavius Hill” (1843–47), calotype print (courtesy Scottish National Portrait Gallery) Although Hill ...

The history of photography has never followed a straight continuum. Since before the time of Vermeer, artists and scientists have labored at different times and in different locations around the globe ...

There is virtually no unit cost and little effort in taking a picture with a digital camera, but when each shot meant expense and concentrated exertion, photographers picked their subjects with care.

How much would you pay for a photographic print of a special foreign destination? Ten dollars, maybe $20? That would be a bargain — compared with the full week’s pay buyers in the 19th Century doled ...

The Graphic Arts division holds a scrapbook of early paper photography compiled by the British optician and amateur photographer, Richard Willats. After several years of work by many staff members, ...