Side Note

Early cyanotype prints feel like visions of an unrealized future

“Dudley Street Station, Looking South”

“Dudley Street Station, Looking South”

When we think of old photography, we tend to imagine things being in black-and-white. However, as these images prove, this wasn’t exactly the case — a popular early photographic form was the cyanotype, in which only blue hues were transferred from film to prints. Looking at early cyanotypes now feels like stepping into another dimension, one more austere and eerie than our own. Some of these images almost seem like visions of an alternate future, or products of an alien civilization; they warp our sense of the past in ways that feel profound.

“Child standing in the doorway of a seashore house”

“Child standing in the doorway of a seashore house”

“People and mule”

“People and mule”

“Marshall Islands Navigation Chart”

“Marshall Islands Navigation Chart”

“Trailer, Couple Gear Freight-Weight Company”

“Trailer, Couple Gear Freight-Weight Company”

“Untitled (Portrait of a Family)”

“Untitled (Portrait of a Family)”

“My Friend Will”

“My Friend Will”

Equipment from Lloyd Engineering Company

Equipment from Lloyd Engineering Company

“Jenkins Flour and Grocery Delivery Truck”

“Jenkins Flour and Grocery Delivery Truck”

I’m blue, da-ba-di-da-ba-di. (Sorry.)