Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Collection of Latin
American photographs
of the 19th century
Inscribed 1997
What is it
A collection of 8000 items featuring a variety of subjects,
all depicting life in 19th-century Latin America.
Why was it inscribed
This is the most comprehensive historical collection
of 19th-century Latin American photography extant
anywhere in the American continent. It depicts a
wide range of human environments and habitats and
photographic genres; is drawn from every country
in South America and the Caribbean; and is taken
using most of the photographic techniques current in
the 19th century. In all, it provides a visual history of the
development of the region.
Where is it
Audio-visual Archive of Venezuela, National Library
of Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
The 19th century was a period of immense political and
administrative change in Latin America, with the collapse
of the Spanish and Portuguese empires which had been
the dominant presence in the region for three centuries
and the separation into new countries, often federal
republics, which themselves fell prey to internal instability
and dictatorship as the century progressed.
Some of these historic events are recorded in the
collection of Latin American photographs. They are also
complemented by photographs recording the everyday
lives of people of all classes, ages and nationalities, a
breadth of subject matter which gives the collection
a comprehensive quality. The photographs record
progress, technological change and community.
Taken in cities, towns and countryside, they feature busy
ports, rural life and landscapes, well-known personalities
and the lives of ordinary people. The collection’s portraits
reveal significant differences in attitudes, styles and forms
of interaction between different social classes. Some of the
economic activity was shot not only for recording purposes
but also for advertising. More recognisable subjects
include presidential visits, natural disasters and images
of war.
Most of the photographic techniques used in
the 19th century are represented in the collection
– daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, platinotypes,
salt paper, bromide paper, gelatin paper and collodion
processes. However, the most frequently used technique
is albumen printing, the cheapest and easiest method of
photographic reproduction and the most commonly used
in the second half of the century. The standard formats
of photograph are represented, in visiting cards that
were normally used for photographs, cabinet prints and
negative plates.
The main part of the collection was in private hands
in New York in the 1980s. The publicity surrounding the
photographs drew the attention of an interested buyer
in the Paul Getty Museum in California. However, their
efforts to keep and expand the collection led the Venezuelan
National Library to transfer it to their Audio-visual Archive.
As a result, several South American collectors also donated
their own collections to the National Library.
Collection of Latin American photographs of the 19th century 415