The Historians Guide to Interpreting Photographs'

1
The Historians Guide to Interpreting Photographs.
All information on interpreting primary sources
is provided by the Library of Congress.
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Analyzing Primary Sources

• Time and Place Rule
• This rule says the closer in time and place a
  source and its creator were to an event in the
  past, the better the source will be.

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Based on the time and place rule, better
primary sources (starting with the most
reliable) might include Direct traces of
the event Accounts of the event, created at
the time it occurred, by firsthand observers
and participants Accounts of the event,
created after the event occurred, by
firsthand observers and participants
Accounts of the event, created after the event
occurred, by people who did not participate
or witness the event, but who used
interviews or evidence from the time of the
event.
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Analyzing Primary Sources

• Bias Rule
• This rule says that every source is biased in
  some way. Documents tell us only what the creator
  of the document thought happened, or perhaps only
  what the creator wants us to think happened. As a
  result, historians follow these bias rule
  guidelines when they review evidence from the
  past

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Bias Rule Continued

• Every piece of evidence and every source
• must be read or viewed skeptically and
• critically.
• No piece of evidence should be taken at face
• value. The creator's point of view must be
  
• considered.
• Each piece of evidence and source must be
• cross-checked and compared with related
• sources and pieces of evidence.

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Visual Documents Artifacts
Visual documents include photographs, films,
paintings, and other types of artwork. Because
visual documents capture moments in time, they
can provide evidence of changes over time.
Visual documents include evidence about a
culture at specific moments in history its
customs, preferences, styles, special occasions,
work, and play.
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Visual Documents Continued
Like other primary source documents, a visual
document has a creator with a point of view --
such as a painter, sculptor, or film maker. Even
photographs were created by photographers using
film and cameras to create desired effects.
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Lewis Hine Photographs

• Captions were written by Lewis Hine. All photos
  courtesy of the National Archives and Records
  Administration.

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General view of spinning room, Cornell Mill, Fall
River, Mass., 01/11/1912
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Bibb Mill No. 1, Macon, Ga. Many youngsters here.
Some boys and girls were so small they had to
climb up on to the spinning frame to mend broken
threads and to put back the empty bobbins.,
01/19/1909
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View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pa. Coal Co. The
dust was so dense at times as to obscure the
view. This dust penetrated the utmost recesses of
the boy's lungs. A kind of slave-driver sometimes
stands over the boys, prodding or kicking them
into obedience. S. Pittston, Pa., 01/10/1911
12
9 P.M. in an Indiana Glass Works. Indiana.,
08/1908
13
Boys in packing room, Brown Mfg. Co. Evansville,
Ind., 10/1908
14
Day scene. Wheaton Glass Works. Boy is Howard
Lee. His mother showed me the family record in
Bible which gave birth July 15, 1894. 15 years
old now, but has been in glass works two years
and some nights. Started at 13 years old.
Millville, N.J., 11/1909
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Camille Carmo, Justine, 7 and 9 years old. The
older one picks about 4 pails a day. Youngest was
picking also. Rochester, Mass., 09/13/1911
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Bowery Bootblack. New York City., 06/1910
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Photo of boys working in Arcade Bowling Alley.
Photo taken late at night. The boys work until
midnight and later. Trenton, N.J., 12/20/1909
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Young boy working for Hickok Lumber Co.
Burlington, Vt., 09/02/1910
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Questions
Taken from the Library of Congress.

• The following questions may help you judge the
  quality
• of primary sources
• Who created the source and why?
• Was it created through a spur-of-the-moment act,
• a routine transaction, or a thoughtful,
  deliberate
• process?
• Did the recorder have firsthand knowledge of the
• event? Or, did the recorder report what
  others saw
• and heard?

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Questions Continued

• 4. Was the recorder a neutral party, or did the
  creator
• have opinions or interests that might have
  influenced
• what was recorded?
• Did the recorder produce the source for personal
  use,
• for one or more individuals, or for a large
  audience?
• Was the source meant to be public or private?
• Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade
  others?
• (Check the words in the source. The words
  may tell
• you whether the recorder was trying to be
  objective or
• persuasive.)
• Did the recorder have reasons to be honest or
• dishonest?

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Questions Continued

• Was the information recorded during the event,
• immediately after the event, or after some
  lapse of
• time? How large a lapse of time?

• 10. Was the information recorded during the
  event,
• immediately after the event, or after
  some lapse
• of time? How large a lapse of time?