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

(Hardback)

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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in art history and the sociology of knowledge, the authors encourage the reader to analyze photographs as complicated historical documents.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 problems of historical interpretation. The authors take as their subject matter the representation of medicine in photographs taken in Britain and the United States for 1840 through the present day. 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. At the core of the book is a concern with the way that medicine has used photography to portray itself. The authors believe that the camera was one of several powerful means through which the professional image of orthodox medicine has been made public. Photographs represented the growing power and prestige of the medical profession and the increasing presence of medicine in daily life. This work also demonstrates the way public perceptions of medicine have changed through time. Early photographs of medicine depicted sick people in portraits like those of any other individuals and portrayed domesticity in hospitals. Gradually, however, medicine was depicted as a different and specialized realm, particularly exemplified in the portrayal of surgery. With the rise of photojournalism at the beginning of the 1930s patients were increasingly depicted as the central focus of activity. Although the subject matter varied, the authors argue that the intent was usually the same - to convey messages about the power of medicine.

Reviews

. . . the book is an important addition to historical works on medicine and photography. It provides ideas and data to make photographic images a more valuable source for understanding the development of medicine.-American Historical Review
The book contains more than 250 photographs which are representative of the thousands which were studied. Each photograph is evaluated and interpreted in terms of the intended meaning and purpose of the images. . . . It is an invaluable compilation of information for the photographer or historian, and represents a tremendous amount of work. It is worth the price of the book for this chapter alone. This book is a pleasure to read and represents the distillation of many hundreds of hours reviewing photographic materials. Unfortunately, it was beyond the book's scope to examine the influences of technical advances such as improved lenses, more sensitive films, and better light sources on medical photography. However, 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
." . . the book is an important addition to historical works on medicine and photography. It provides ideas and data to make photographic images a more valuable source for understanding the development of medicine."-American Historical Review
"The book contains more than 250 photographs which are representative of the thousands which were studied. Each photograph is evaluated and interpreted in terms of the intended meaning and purpose of the images. . . . It is an invaluable compilation of information for the photographer or historian, and represents a tremendous amount of work. It is worth the price of the book for this chapter alone. This book is a pleasure to read and represents the distillation of many hundreds of hours reviewing photographic materials. Unfortunately, it was beyond the book's scope to examine the influences of technical advances such as improved lenses, more sensitive films, and better light sources on medical photography. However, 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

Author Bio

DANIEL M. FOX is Professor of Humanities in Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. CHRISTOPHER J. LAWRENCE is Senior Lecturer in the History of Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London.