Women Photographers of the Pacific World, 1857–1930

Abstract

reading experience. Particularly striking in this regard are the descriptions of the various apparatuses that Newland invented to create the spectacular visual shows he staged while living and working in Calcutta. It is not just the author’s fine-grained knowledge of past photographic practices and technologies that impresses, however. The reader is also offered a fine demonstration of how to weave elements of contemporary photographic theory into the narrative in a way that helps illuminate the significance of Newland’s inventions for contemporary readers. While the book provides a brilliantly detailed account of the history of the daguerreotype and the nineteenth-century views shows that catered to the era’s vogue for visual spectacle, it could be said to be somewhat light in its treatment of Newland’s life. For instance, we never learn whether Newland married or had children, whether he was from the British lower, middle or upper classes, or even why he left England for the USA. This is no doubt partly a function of the period itself, for Newland was working at time when few official records of people’s lives were kept and indeed, as the authors explain, all that is known of his family background is his mother’s name and the fact that he was her first child and of illegitimate birth. But it may also have been partly a function of the highly competitive nature of Newland’s profession and his itinerant lifestyle, for these meant that he had neither the time nor space to keep records pertaining to his private life or indeed his business. Indeed, the picture that emerges of him is of a man who was not just one of the most hardworking photographers and showmen of his time – he was also one of the most talented and entrepreneurial. In summary, the wide range of media and historical incidents covered by Empire, Early Photography and Spectacle together with the book’s in-depth research render it a valuable resource for scholars of both past and contemporary visual media. This book will also appeal to all those interested in the various visual apparatuses and optical technologies that contributed to the growth both of colonialism and the cultures of entertainment in first half of the nineteenth century.