Nineteenth Century Photography Unmasked!

I can't believe it! This week the long awaited Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography is finally in print. Several years ago (I've lost count of how many) an editor contacted me about contributing to this two volume set. I complied and then forgot about it. Ever since it arrived on my doorstep the other day I've been leafing through it looking for answers to some of my questions. It includes general entries on photographic methods and biographies of notable nineteenth century photographic figures such as Daguerre and some lesser known folks like William Mumler, the first spirit photographer. A further reading section follows longer entries. While this is a little pricey ($440.) for the average family photo historian it's a must have for larger libraries. I wrote the short piece on photographic jewelry. It provides the basic history of this type of photo presentation. If you want to delve in-depth into the topic check out Larry J. West and Patricia A. Abbott's Tokens of Affection publication on photographic jewelry. It's wonderful! At the time I wrote my article, West and Abbott were still writing their text so it isn't listed in my bibliography for the Encyclopedia.