Mandarin Wife - Early photography, Public domain image

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Mandarin Wife - Early photography, Public domain image

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Summary

Milton M. Miller (American, active China, 1830–1899)

The albumen silver print is a photographic printing process that was widely used in the 19th century. It involves coating paper support with a mixture of egg whites and salt, which creates a glossy surface to hold light-sensitive silver salts. The paper is then sensitized in a solution of silver nitrate, and exposed in a camera or under a negative. After exposure, the print is developed in a solution of gallic acid and silver nitrate, which reduces the silver salts to metallic silver and creates the final image. The albumen print process was widely used for commercial and fine art photography in the 19th century and produced high-quality, detailed images with a distinctive glossy finish.

Milton M. Miller began his career as a portrait photographer and opened his own studio in New York City. Miller was known for his use of the wet plate collodion process, which was a popular photographic technique in the mid-19th century. Miller's work was highly regarded and he won numerous awards for his photographs, including a gold medal at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He was also a member of the Photographic Society of America and served as its president in 1889. Miller's photographs often depicted scenes from everyday life, such as street scenes, landscapes and portraits of people from all walks of life. He was particularly interested in capturing images of Native Americans and travelled extensively throughout the western United States to photograph them. Miller died in 1899, but his legacy lives on through his photographs, which are now in collections and museums around the world. His work is considered a major contribution to the history of photography in America.

date_range

Date

1890 - 1900
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Source

Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Copyright info

Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

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