Reading Historical Photographs: 

What Can We See, What Can We 

Learn? 

G P O H I S T O R Y T A L K 

A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 1 3 

G E O R G E B A R N U M , G P O A G E N C Y H I S T O R I A N 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

What Can We See, 

What Can we Learn? 

 GPO’s historical photograph 

collection has something on the 

order of 10,000 images in prints, 

negatives, slides, and digital files. 

 One of the responsibilities of the 

historian is to make the photos 

available, and to provide accurate, 

interesting information that 

illuminates and interprets the 

photos. 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

What Can We See, 

What Can we Learn? 

 There is a well-established set of 

techniques among historians and 

photography experts for looking 

and and interpreting photos. 

 The framework has three 

elements: 

• Observe 

• Reflect 

• Query 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

What Can We See, 

What Can we Learn? 

 OBSERVE - Identify factual 

details 

 REFLECT – Form and test 

hypotheses 

 QUERY – Develop questions to 

gain further understanding 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

OBSERVE 

 Look at the factual information 

the photo provides (who, what, 

when where) 

 Describe what is visible | What do 

you notice first? | What people 

and objects are shown? | How are 

they arranged? | What is the 

setting? | Are there any textual 

clues visible (words, signs, etc.?) | 

Are there details you cannot 

identify? 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

REFLECT 

 Think in more abstract terms 

about the photo, add other 

knowledge to what we can see. 

 Why was is taken? | How was it 

composed? | Why was the image 

made? | What’s happening in the 

image?| When was it made? | 

Who was the intended audience? 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

QUERY 

 Synthesize the explicit (what we 

can see), the implicit (what is 

known but not visible), and the 

unknown. 

 What’s missing from the photo? | 

What happened a moment before 

the shot was captured? A moment 

after? | What do you wonder 

about after seeing the image? 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

“Parts” of 

Photos 

 Photographs are made up of 

Composition (what the 

photographer grouped 

together in the frame) 

Capture of a moment (is 

there action or activity?) 

 Setting 

Focal point (what’s in the 

center or in focus, what’s 

the important object or 

statement?) 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

CONTEXT 

 Many elements give a photo its 

context 

 Photos are composed by the 

photographer, much like writing 

or drawing. 

 Elements are consciously 

included, excluded, emphasized 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

The GPO 

Collection 

 GPO’s historical photos are 

documentary, but for the most 

part not of events (at least prior to 

the 1960s). 

 Their intention is mostly pretty 

clear: to record and promote the 

largest printing plant in the 

world. 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

The GPO 

Collection 

 There is a historical arc: 

Few or none pre-1890 

Relatively few 1890 – 1920 

An explosion of photos 

1920 – 1940 

Fewer during and just after 

World War II 

Character of subjects 

changes by mid-50s (more 

events, less plant) 

Now largely event-based 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

The GPO 

Collection 

 A simple filing system was put in 

place many years ago, relying on 

the agency organizational chart. 

80 – 90% are identified with at 

least an organizational unit, rarely 

names of people, and only 

sometimes a date. 

 That system has been expanded 

to provide a bit more ready detail 

 There are almost always multiple 

copies of each print. 

 Many have appeared in GPO 

publications 
Reading Historical Photographs 

TRY A BRIEF EXERCISE TO 

DEMONSTRATE THE 

OBSERVE <- > REFLECT <- >QUERY 

FRAMEWORK 
 Take a couple of minutes to Reading 

Historical closely examine the photo on the 

Photographs following slide 

Exercise 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

Now, list 

everything you 

can say with 

certainty (“I 

see. . .” rather 

than “This 

might be . . . “) 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

What is the 

central or focal 

item? What 

most 

prominently 

draws your 

attention? 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

Reflect 

 Answer these questions: 

 Why was the photo taken? What was its 

purpose? 

 When was it taken? How can you tell? 

 Where was it taken? How do you know? 

 What happened one minute after the 

photographer snapped the picture? One 

minute before? 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

The original 

identification assigned 

to this photo is that it 

shows the production of 

postal money orders in 

Building 4, 1940s. That 

identification was based 

on one piece of 

documented 

information (that it was 

the money order 

section) and on 

judgements based on 

observation. 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

Eventually, 

another photo 

came to light, 

clearly the same 

setting, with a 

definite date of 

1933. A 

problem since 

Building 4 

wasn’t built yet. 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

 The second photo, although 

obviously the same location, is a 

different view. Based on further 

research, we determined that it 

was taken in part of the old GPO 

building, now demolished, 

located where Building 3 now sits. 

An exterior shot of the rooftops of 

the old building, taken from 

Building 2, reveals an extension 

with a roof and clerestory pattern 

that matches what is visible from 

the inside here. 
Reading Historical Photographs 

It's necessary to query and test asumptions throughout. Both 

shots are of Money Order Section, old building, mid-1930s 
Reading 

Historical 

Photographs 

 This technique can be applied to 

most any photo. Give it a try! 

 Observe <--- >Reflect < --- > Query