Throughout the making of this triple exposure, the camera, and the film inside it, stayed put. Before each opening of the shutter, the two sitters repositioned themselves, occupying each of the three rooms in turn. A lantern accompanied them, so that at each exposure, only one room—the inhabited one—imparted detail to the negative. Photography’s century-long rise to the status of fine art owed much to the experiments of avid amateurs. Guided by odd inspirations, hobbyists broke the medium down and reassembled it, often in ways the equipment manufacturers had never intended.
Unknown Photographer, Untitled (triple exposure), ca. 1910. Gelatin silver print mounted on board. Purchased on the Photography Acquisition Fund, 2019.65.