THE ARVREN GUIDES
Go deeper into visual history.
Long-form explainers for readers who want to understand historical photographs, archival evidence, early photographic processes and the clues hidden inside old images.
GUIDE · PHOTOGRAPHY
The History of Photography
A concise history of photography, from early permanent images and nineteenth-century processes to the rise of modern visual culture.
GUIDE · METHOD
How to Read a Historical Photograph
Learn how to read an old photograph using dates, buildings, clothing, transport, photographic technology, captions and provenance.
GUIDE · ARCHIVES
The World’s Oldest Photographs
A guide to some of the earliest surviving photographs and the experiments that made permanent camera images possible.
GUIDE · RESEARCH
How Historical Photographs Are Dated
How historians estimate the date of an old photograph using visual clues, photographic processes, architecture and provenance.