Photo as History/Photo as Artifact

[cgw143 168]

A very interesting story. Well worth a look:

The Hidden History of a 19th-Century Photograph and the Mystery of Its Unnamed Girl

The identity of the mysterious girl in the photo was unknown.

petapixel.com

 

[smoke665]

Ive seen this before, but never read the book, guess I need to. Not only did her presence confuse me, but she seems to tall for an 8yr old, or the men back then we're shorter.

 

[terri60]

The identity of the girl still seems unknown. She doesn't look like an 8 yo child, so the author appears to have taken great liberties assigning this name and history to her. Interesting story, though.

 

[cgw143 168]

The identity of the girl still seems unknown. She doesn't look like an 8 yo child, so the author appears to have taken great liberties assigning this name and history to her. Interesting story, though.

In fairness, it's necessary to state--and repeat--that "historic" photos aren't "history." They're artifacts, frozen time minus context. Invented context is too often misleading or downright inaccurate--purposeful? sometimes!

 

[terri60]

I do think the writer is mincing words somewhat to suit her project here - a photo like this may not itself be "history," but it's certainly a snapshot of an historic period, with prominent historical figures in it - and knowledge of the photographer.

The writer "...concludes that the girl is Sophie Mousseau, estimated to be about eight years old when the photograph was taken." And then she proceeds with an unquestionably interesting story of how that girl's life unfolded, for which the writer has documented sources, including primary documents.

But it's still just an educated guess. That's aside from the definite hardships of Sophie Mousseau, who had the misfortune of being an indigenous person during this time of displacement and subjugation.

 

[cgw143 168]

I do think the writer is mincing words somewhat to suit her project here - a photo like this may not itself be "history," but it's certainly a snapshot of an historic period, with prominent historical figures in it - and knowledge of the photographer.

The writer "...concludes that the girl is Sophie Mousseau, estimated to be about eight years old when the photograph was taken." And then she proceeds with an unquestionably interesting story of how that girl's life unfolded, for which the writer has documented sources, including primary documents.

But it's still just an educated guess. That's aside from the definite hardships of Sophie Mousseau, who had the misfortune of being an indigenous person during this time of displacement and subjugation.

And then there's this: