Town Historian’s Annual Lecture Will Look Back At Newtown Through 19th Century Photographs

With the invention of photography in 1839, the world entered a new era: no longer would an expensive brush artist be needed to record the family or its surroundings. While it took some time for photographic methods to become cheap enough to reach lower economic levels, it eventually became possible for virtually everyone to have a portrait taken, to send a picture of one’s home to distant relatives, and to record other images of one’s being and status.

While the photographic motivation was largely immediate with little thought for posterity, the new method of recordkeeping has opened a literal window on the past for those of the present.

Newtown Historical Society will look through that window in a presentation by Town Historian Daniel Cruson on Monday, January 12. The annual lecture by the town historian will begin at 7:30 pm at Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

The earliest photography was cumbersome, requiring extensive equipment and long exposures, but the technique rapidly developed to permit smaller and less cumbersome equipment, and the invention of the negative made duplicate prints possible. With the invention of the roll film Kodak camera by George Eastman, the process became open to everyone, and the “snapshot” became nearly ubiquitous.

In “Window on Victorian Newtown: 19th Century Local Photography,” Mr Cruson will discuss the types of photographs commonly used during the 19th Century as well as how to date them. He will trace trends in portraiture and landscape photography, using many illustrations from local photographers to show the broader cultural, social, and economic trends which produced them.

These local productions will enable him to explain how historical societies can use photographs to glean more information on the physical changes that have occurred within their towns, and how individuals can gain more information on their 19th Century ancestors from photographs commonly found in the attics of those or following ancestors.

His presentation will concentrate heavily on photos that were taken in 19th Century Newtown, and especially those of local photographer Henry Cook.

Mr Cruson, a former teacher of anthropology and local history at Joel Barlow High School, has used photographic sources extensively with his students. He is presently president of the Connecticut Archeological Society.

As town historian, he has also researched and written extensively about Newtown and Fairfield County. He is a past president of Newtown Historical Society, and currently serves as a trustee.

All Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

For further information, call 426-5937.