Richard Neuhauss’s Stuffed Parrot: Interferential Colour Photography, Taxidermy, and Projection

Physicist Gabriel Lippmann’s (1845–1921) photographic process is one of the oldest methods for producing colour photographs. So why do the achievements of this 1908 Nobel laureate remain mostly unknown outside niche circles? Using the centenary of Lippmann’s death as an opportunity to reflect upon his scientific, photographic, and cultural legacy, this book is the first to explore his interferential colour photography. Initially disclosed in 1891, the emergence of this medium is considered here through three shaping forces: science, media, and museums. A group of international scholars reassess Lippmann’s reception in the field of the history of science, where he is most recognised, by going well beyond his circles in France and delving into the complexity of his colour photography as a medium that challenges various historiographies. Moreover, they focus on the interferential plate as a material object in need of both preservation and exhibition, one that continues to fascinate contemporary analogue photographers. This volume allows readers to get to know Lippmann, grasp the interdisciplinary complexity of his colourful work, and ultimately expand his place in the history of photography. Frontmatter -- Table Of Contents -- Gabriel Lippmann's Colour Photography: A Critical Introduction -- Part I The Science Of Colour Photography And The Colour Photography Of Science -- 1. How Lippmann Froze Light And Passed It Around For Others To Taste -- 2. Lippmann's Interferential Colour Photography: A Juncture Between The Histories Of Spectroscopy And Photography -- 3. Colour Under The Microscope: Santiago Ram̤n Y Cajal Does 'histology' On Lippmann Heliochromes -- 4. Lost In Description: The Misunderstanding Of Frederic Ives (1856-1937) And The Experiments Of His Son Herbert (1882-1953) On Lippmann's Interference Photography -- Part Ii Media History, Aesthetics, And Culture -- 5. Lippmann Photography And The Problems Of Media Historiography -- 6. Richard Neuhauss's Stuffed Parrot: Interferential Colour Photography, Taxidermy, And Projection -- 7. Brilliant! Enthusiasm For The Aesthetic Qualities Of Lippmann's Interferential Photography -- 8. From Maxwell To Mercury: The Cultural History Of Gabriel Lippmann's Colour Photography -- Part Iii Contemporary Reception And Future Trajectories -- 9. Materiality, Identification, And Conservation Of Lippmann Plates -- 10. Exhibiting Gabriel Lippmann: A Collaborative Challenge -- 11. Modern Lippmann Photog -- 12. It's Not Just A Picture, It's A Magical Object: Interview With Contemporary Lippmann Photographer Filipe Alves -- Afterword: Building Bridges Over Standing Waves -- Index Edited By Hanin Hannouch. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web. Table of contents Gabriel Lippmann’s Colour Photography: A Critical Introduction Part I The Science of Colour Photography and the Colour Photography of Science 1. How Lippmann Froze Light and Passed It around for Others to Taste 2. Lippmann’s Interferential Colour Photography: A Juncture between the Histories of Spectroscopy and Photography 3. Colour Under the Microscope: Santiago Ramón y Cajal Does ‘Histology’ on Lippmann Heliochromes 4. Lost in Description: The Misunderstanding of Frederic Ives (1856–1937) and the Experiments of His Son Herbert (1882–1953) on Lippmann’s Interference Photography Part II Media History, Aesthetics, and Culture 5. Lippmann Photography and the Problems of Media Historiography 6. Richard Neuhauss’s Stuffed Parrot: Interferential Colour Photography, Taxidermy, and Projection 7. Brilliant! Enthusiasm for the Aesthetic Qualities of Lippmann’s Interferential Photography 8. From Maxwell to Mercury: The Cultural History of Gabriel Lippmann’s Colour Photography Part III Contemporary Reception and Future Trajectories 9. Materiality, Identification, and Conservation of Lippmann Plates 10. Exhibiting Gabriel Lippmann: A Collaborative Challenge 11. Modern Lippmann Photog 12. “It’s not just a picture, it’s a magical object”: Interview with Contemporary Lippmann Photographer Filipe Alves Afterword: Building Bridges over Standing Waves Index Physicist Gabriel Lippmann's (1845-1921) photographic process is one of the oldest methods for producing colour photographs. So why do the achievements of this 1908 Nobel laureate remain mostly unknown outside niche circles? Using the centenary of Lippmann?s death as an opportunity to reflect upon his scientific, photographic, and cultural legacy, this book is the first to explore his interferential colour photography. Initially disclosed in 1891, the emergence of this medium is considered here through three shaping forces: science, media, and museums.00A group of international scholars reassess Lippmann?s reception in the history of science, where he is most recognised, by going well beyond his endeavours in France and delving into the complexity of his colour photography as a challenge to various historiographies. Moreover, they analyse colour photographs as optical media, thus pluralising Lippmann photography's ties to art, cultural and imperial history, as well as media archaeology. The contributors also focus on the interferential plate as a material object in need of both preservation and exhibition, one that continues to fascinate contemporary analogue photographers. This volume allows readers to get to know Lippmann, grasp the interdisciplinary complexity of his colourful work, and ultimately expand his place in the history of photography Physicist Gabriel Lippmann's (1845-1921) photographic process is one of the oldest methods for producing colour photographs. So why do the achievements of this 1908 Nobel laureate remain mostly unknown outside niche circles? Using the centenary of Lippmann's death as an opportunity to reflect upon his scientific, photographic, and cultural legacy, this book is the first to explore his interferential colour photography. Initially disclosed in 1891, the emergence of this medium is considered here through three shaping forces: science, media, and museums. A group of international scholars reassess Lippmann's reception in the history of science, where he is most recognised, by going well beyond his endeavours in France and delving into the complexity of his colour photography as a challenge to various historiographies. Moreover, they analyse colour photographs as optical media, thus pluralising Lippmann photography's ties to art, cultural and imperial history, as well as media archaeology. The contributors also focus on the interferential plate as a material object in need of both preservation and exhibition, one that continues to fascinate contemporary analogue photographers. This volume allows readers to get to know Lippmann, grasp the interdisciplinary complexity of his colourful work, and ultimately expand his place in the history of photography This article places doctor of medicine, anthropologist, and photographer Richard Neuhauss’s (1855–1915) practice of the Lippmann process in relation to other media. It focuses on the importance of taxidermy for the choice of an adequate test object for interferential colour photography and the role the stuffed superb parrot, a colonial animal-object par excellence, played in Neuhauss’s experimental practice. Moreover, this text examines the various optical media needed to present the interferential colour photograph to individual or collective spectators in Imperial Germany, especially projection, with whom it had a special relationship.