From the Library of Congress (LOC) comes Camera and Locomotive, an interactive story map that explores how "[t]wo defining technologies of nineteenth-century America - railroads and photography - developed largely in parallel and brought about drastic changes in how people understood time and space." Organized into seven chapters plus an introduction, the story map begins in the 1860s with an overview of the construction of transcontinental rail lines connecting Omaha and Sacramento, a feat that was documented by three photographers (Andrew Joseph Russell, John Carbutt, and Alfred A. Hart) whose work became an influential part of the Manifest Destiny narrative. Next, the story explains some of the ideas and events that set this ambitious plan into motion before delving into the biographies of each photographer and their work in turn. This engaging story map incorporates numerous historical photos and images from the LOC's vast holdings, and those interested can follow links back to each item's entry in the LOC's digital collections. Camera and Locomotive was created by Micah Messenheimer, an associate curator of photography in the LOC's Prints & Photographs Division.
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