Chapter 4: Geo-Referencing Early Photographic Studios and Using Historic Photographs to Study Urban Processes and Environments

Photographs are primary source documents that, like manuscripts and printed documents, carry layers of embedded information. As an example of a research strategy that can be used to study the time, place, and context of the development of early photographic businesses in America, a project to research and geo-reference the early photographic studios in New York City using information culled from imprints, census records, city directories, and other period sources is described. This case study example will focus on analyzing photographs and photographers operating in New York City and Brooklyn from the birth of popular photography in the 1840s to ca 1870s, and what researchers can learn about the development of the urban environments during this era. The study will provide an example of a research trajectory, brief background on the processes and early photographic business development, and note some of the research challenges that arise using historic photographs to study urban environments.