The birth of photography at the British Library

It’s probably true to say that most people in the world today, with the exception of those living in very remote areas, carry in their heads certain photographic images. These pictures stay with us for various reasons - they may have a haunting beauty like the portrait of the green-eyed Afghan girl which appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985 or they may come to symbolise momentous political events like the photo of a Soviet soldier raising the red flag over the Reichstag in 1945.

This ability of photos to invade our minds, even if we don’t want them to, is confirmed by a new exhibition at the British Library, Points of View, which looks at the development and uses of photography in the nineteenth century. Like photographs themselves this is an exhibition that works on a number of levels - scientific and artistic, political and aesthetic.

First, it’s worth seeing this collection of photos purely for their beauty and historical interest. The range is huge, from pictures of Charles Dickens writing at his desk to the earliest photos taken of Angkor Wat, its temples cocooned in giant tropical creepers. Dickens apparently knew all about the fraught relationship between celebrities and photographers - he was chased in the street and papped on several occasions.

The current cult of celebrity would be impossible without our ability to mass produce and manipulate images. Photography gradually allowed millions of us to develop and polish our self-images and use them to position ourselves socially. Early photographic studios often had painted backdrops of classical scenery and props of antique furniture, all intended to indicate that the people posing for the cameraman came from grand,prosperous backgrounds. Viewed from the wizardry of Facebook and Photoshop this may all seem rather naive but it’s a real insight into how so many of us became drawn to the fun - and drudgery - of self promotion and self improvement.

A more alarming use of photography emerged when it became linked to the nineteenth century interest in human ‘types’ and origins. Huge collections of pictures of people of different races were amassed, in the belief that these images could both provide and prove scientific ‘facts’ about particular races and cultures. The exhibition catalogue points out it’s probably no co-incidence that the usually nameless subjects of these pictures were often snapped full face and in profile - as in police mugshots today.

Of course, just like hundreds of other inventions photography can be used for good or bad reasons. Some of the most striking images in the exhibition are actually early X-rays. Almost immediately after leaving the British Library I picked up a copy of The Guardian weekend magazine and discovered an article about the current use of X-rays to corroborate the testimonies of torture victims. Apparently some forms of torture like falaka, beating the soles of the feet, leave very few external marks yet evidence of this abuse can be picked up on X-rays - a great example of the unpredictable long-term effects and benefits of new technologies.

This exhibition is free and I think it’s worth several visits. There are so many photographs as well as scientific information about how early photographic processes worked. Even if you don’t buy a catalogue or a few cards you’ll probably add several images to that personal photograph album in your head.