Photographing Medicine: Images and Power in Britain and America Since 1840

The book contains more than 250 photographs which are representative of the thousands that were studied. Each photograph is evaluated and interpreted in terms of the intended meaning and purpose of the images. . . . This book is a pleasure to read and represents the distillation of many hundreds of hours reviewing photographic materials. . . . The basic information regarding the interpretation of photographic conventions should be of great interest to both photographers and those with an interest in the cultural histories of Britain and the US. Journal of Biological Photography

With a perspective shaped by recent work in art history and the sociology of knowledge, the authors encourage the reader to analyze photographs as complicated historical documents. They argue that, while photographs may appear to be literal depictions of reality, they actually pose profound problems of historical interpretation. The authors take as their subject matter the representation of medicine in photographs taken in Britain and the United States from 1840 through the present day. They have studied thousands of photographs, more than 250 of which are reprinted in this volume, in conjunction with other primary sources and historical accounts. The text explores the representations of medicine made by photographers and their employers, and the ways that audiences through the years have interpreted their messages.