Historical Imagining: The Photographs of Reuben Sallows
  
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by
    
   
Michelle Lambe
    
     

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Introduction

 
  A photograph can record detail with astonishing exactitude and reliability. From the very first daguerreotypes in the 1840s it was apparent that photography provides us with an immense power to record ourselves as we are and as we wish to be. By the end of the nineteenth century the technology was so advanced that every little town could have its own studio and produce numerous prints for the commercial market. Landscapes, portraits and current events were the most popular subjects, but there was little in the public domain that was not photographed.

 
     
  A photograph is much more than the product of complicated procedures and chemical processes. It is a deliberate recording of an instant in time. As such, it can share much with its viewer. A photograph from the past can give us clues as to what people wore, what they considered attractive and what sort of technology permeated their everyday lives. A photograph, however, can also give us a glimpse into the inner minds of the peoples of the past.
 
     
  A photograph can be manipulated in a variety of ways. It is this very manipulation that can give us evidence as to what was considered important. What is left out is sometimes even more important than what is included. The photograph is an extremely valuable historical tool that can allow us to examine both material and mental culture. It is a source that is all too often overlooked. This essay will take a close look at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food's Sallows Collection of Historical Photographs and explore the limitations and benefits of using this collection as a historical source.  
       
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