Contents
| 806.01 | 19th Century Photographic Studios - Properties, accessories and novelties | | 806.02 | A contemporary thought on the properties, accessories and novelties used in 19th studios | | 806.03 | Props, accessories and novelties: Head rests - illustrations | | 806.04 | Props, accessories and novelties: Head rests - photographs | | 806.05 | Props, accessories and novelties: Chairs | | 806.06 | Props, accessories and novelties: Posing chairs for children | | 806.07 | Props, accessories and novelties: Posing furniture with restraints | | 806.08 | Props, accessories and novelties: Tables | | 806.09 | Props, accessories and novelties: Benches | | 806.10 | Props, accessories and novelties: Curtains | | 806.11 | Props, accessories and novelties: Columns, plinths and pedestals | | 806.12 | Props, accessories and novelties: Balustrades | | 806.13 | Props, accessories and novelties: Staircases | | 806.14 | Props, accessories and novelties: Rustic fences, gates, trees and stumps | | 806.15 | Props, accessories and novelties: Swings | | 806.16 | Props, accessories and novelties: Cameras | | 806.17 | Props, accessories and novelties: Toys | | 806.18 | Props, accessories and novelties: Horses |
| This theme includes example sections and will be revised and added to as we proceed. Suggestions for additions, improvements and the correction of factual errors are always appreciated.
Status: Collect > Document > Analyse > Improve |
806.01 Studio necessities > 19th Century Photographic Studios - Properties, accessories and novelties
This listing which will be improved over time lists the commonest properties to be seen in nineteenth century studio portraits.
| Interior scenes - Visible |
- Chairs and sofas (vast variety of posing furniture - some specifically for babies and small children)
- Benches
- Tables
- Desks
- Columns, plinths and pedestals (innumerable styles, heights and widths)
- Mantels and fireplaces
- Day beds (a more common item in the Mediterranean and Middle East and found in photographs by the Zangaki Brothers and Pascal Sebah.)
- Beds (They only appear in post-mortem, erotic or art studio photographs. Most post-mortem photographs were carried out in the home but there were cases when the body of a child or deceased loved one was taken to a studio to preserve a memory. In the cases where children are shown in bedrooms such as some of the Lewis Carroll albumen prints it is now regarded as questionable.)
- Drapery (heavy fabrics, drapes, curtains, throws)
- Carpets, rugs, furs and other floor coverings
- Large ceramic pots and urns
- Plant and fern stands, planters and artificial plants
- Windows
- Screens
|
| Interior scenes - Rarely visible |
|
| Exterior scenes - Visible |
- Rustic wooden fences
- Rustic fences, gates, trees and stumps
- Porches
- Bridges
- Balustrades
- Benches (rustic wood and stone)
- Statues
- Pedestals
- Stone walls
- Park gates
- Artificial grass, or furs used to indicate grass
- Branches, twigs, tree trunks and limbs (real or papier mache)
- Rocks
- Simulated snow (using furs or rock salt)
- Swings
- Entire rustic buildings and temples
- Transportation (mockups of sledges, hot air balloons, trains, row boats and later cars and planes)
|
When examining a photograph it can be important to see if the items in the studio match the ethnicity of the sitter. For example if the sitter is Chinese is the style of the table and chair also in the Chinese style or European.
806.02 Studio necessities > A contemporary thought on the properties, accessories and novelties used in 19th studios
 
The Photographic Journal being the Journal of the Photographic Society, 15 December 1862, No.128, p.188
There is always too much of the studio in these carte de visite portraits. We do not merely refer to the extraordinary backgrounds which some of these operators employ. Why a respectable old lady is to be represented as sitting without her bonnet in a chair placed upon a Brussels carpet in the middle of a terraced garden, is always very perplexing; and it is equally difficult to understand what the foundation can be for the theory, which seems to have possessed the minds of several of the photographers, that the middle-aged men of England generally spend their lives leaning against a Corinthian pillar, with a heavy curtain flapping about their legs, turning their backs to a magnificent view, and obviously standing in a frightful thorough draught.
806.03 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Head rests - illustrations
             
806.04 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Head rests - photographs
         
806.05 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Chairs
                                    
806.06 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Posing chairs for children
    
806.07 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Posing furniture with restraints
806.08 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Tables
              
806.09 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Benches
806.10 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Curtains
      
806.11 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Columns, plinths and pedestals
                  
806.12 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Balustrades
          
806.13 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Staircases
806.14 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Rustic fences, gates, trees and stumps
      
806.15 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Swings
   
806.16 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Cameras
    
806.17 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Toys
       
806.18 Studio necessities > Props, accessories and novelties: Horses
 
alan@luminous-lint.com |
General reading
Tinsman, John W., 1887, 28 June (filed), Photographic accessory, (United States Patent Office) [Letters Patent No. 375,230; Application filed: June 28, 1887] [Δ]
If you feel this list is missing a significant book or article please let me know - Alan - alan@luminous-lint.com
| Home > The business of photography > Studio necessities > Props
A wider gazeA closer lookRelated topics
Patents
|
|
LuminousLint 
@LuminousLint