Photographic Encyclopedia — Andrew J. Lloyd & Company Illustrated Trade Catalogue — 1902
BEFORE THE CAMERA BECAME COMMONPLACE — THE ART AND BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
An extensively illustrated early twentieth-century photographic trade catalogue documenting the equipment, materials, and techniques available to professional and advanced amateur photographers at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Issued by Andrew J. Lloyd & Company of Boston, a major photographic supplier, this catalogue functions as both a commercial price guide and a practical reference work, presenting cameras, lenses, photographic chemicals, developing equipment, printing supplies, and accessories from a period when photography was rapidly moving from a specialized craft into a popular pastime.
The catalogue also has strong graphic appeal, combining commercial illustration, typography, and early twentieth-century design.
A SNAPSHOT OF PHOTOGRAPHY BEFORE THE DIGITAL AGE.
The catalogue captures photography at an important transitional moment, when large-format cameras, glass plates, developing chemistry, telephoto attachments, and precision optical instruments represented the cutting edge of photographic technology. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, and technical discussions provide a window into the working methods of photographers in the early 1900s.
The inclusion of product essays, technical explanations, and extensive advertising material makes this more than a price list — it is a record of photographic culture, commerce, and technology.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Original flexible paper wrappers, constructed from heavy textured stock similar to construction paper. Octavo-format illustrated trade catalogue measuring approximately 6.5 by 10 inches. 416 pages. The front wrapper features a striking color paste-on Art Nouveau-style illustration depicting a woman holding a flower within a circular decorative frame.
Illustrated throughout with
+++ Camera and equipment illustrations
+++ Lens and accessory diagrams
+++ Product descriptions
+++ Technical photographic discussions
+++ Price listings
Includes an original folded four-sided price sheet, printed separately and inserted with the catalogue.
CONDITION: Good, The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even age-toning. The front cover is detached, with edge wear and handling wear to the fragile paper wrappers. The illustrated paste-on remains present and visually attractive. Moderate shelf wear and general handling consistent with a working trade catalogue. The inserted folded price sheet has outer edge wear but remains complete.
SCARCITY NOTE: A search of OCLC located a later 1905 issue at the New York Public Library. No institutional record for this 1902 issue was identified at the time of cataloguing.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.
The early 1900s marked a significant period in photographic history, bridging the era of professional studio photography and the coming expansion of amateur photography. Companies such as Andrew J. Lloyd & Company supplied the equipment and materials that allowed photographers to experiment with increasingly sophisticated cameras, lenses, and processes.
A WORKING RECORD OF EARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE.
Trade catalogues such as this preserve the practical reality of photography before standardized consumer cameras dominated the market. The detailed equipment descriptions, pricing, and technical explanations reveal how photographers selected tools, maintained equipment, and developed images in the pre-digital era.
SUBJECTS: Photography, Cameras, Photographic Equipment, Lenses, Darkroom Processes, Amateur Photography, Optical Instruments, Boston Business History, Art Nouveau Design, Trade Catalogues, Photographic History, Advertising Ephemera, Technology History, Industrial Publishing.
Item #22382
Price: $85.00
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