Great Inventions of the 19th Century | Innovative technologies | Printing and photography

Printing and photography changed the cultural and political life of society in many decisive ways.

During the 19th century, printing technology developed further and new technologies (e.g. steam-powered machinery, lithography, four-colour printing and the rotary press) facilitated the production of books and newspapers.

The technique of lithography crossed with the experiments of the French inventor Nicéphore Niépce, who invented the first photograph in 1826, had greatly enhanced published materials. Photography techniques developed throughout the 19th century. People, monuments and events such as the Crimean War were photographed. New printing technologies provided the basis for the diffusion of political and cultural ideas and most importantly for shaping public opinion. In the Ottoman Empire, the Tanzimat (reforms issued by the Ottoman sultans from 1839) promoted newspapers in local languages and provided a legal framework for the press (Press and Journalism Regulation Code, 1864). The printing of books, periodicals and newspapers played an important role in advancing the ideas of Nahda (renaissance) in the Arab and Ottoman world.

Working NumberNameHolding MuseumDateMaterialsCurator Justification
RO 040The arrival of Suleiman Pasha, envoy of the Porte, in GiurgiuNational Museum of Romanian History1848Chromolithography was a development of lithography (a printing technique using ink on a stone or plate) by using multiple stones or plates to produce colour prints.

IT2 071The Gallery of Machines – Section of French Telegraphic Machines, Marinoni's Continuous Paper Model [Paris Exhibition, 1878]National Central Library1878The invention of the rotary press and four-colour printing are attributed to Auguste Hippolyte Marinoni. The new machines changed the printing of journals, achieving up to 18,000–20,000 copies per hour.

UA 030Lithographed Qur’an, originally written by Shukr Zadeh (d. AH 1166 / AD 1753)Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation / Sharjah Museums DepartmentHegira 1266 / AD 1850Lithographed ManuscriptIn the Ottoman Empire, the printing of Qur’ans began in the second half of the 19th century in Egypt and in Istanbul. Most were lithographed, as they had the look and feel of manuscripts and, most importantly, all the required recitational signs could be rendered accurately.

TR2 051Hüdavendigar Paper in Armenian Bursa Basın Tarihi Müzesi1869PaperPrinting of local newspapers in Arabic or Turkish began early in the 19th century in Egypt and Istanbul. Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha, in Egypt, promoted printing, as did the Ottoman sultans. Newspaper printing developed further throughout the 19th century in the Ottoman Empire.

TR2 052Hüdavendigar NewspaperBursa Basın Tarihi Müzesi1869PaperA newspaper published after the Tanzimat (reforms). In the Ottoman Empire newspapers were printed in Arabic, Persian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Albanian, Kurdish, English, French, Italian, German, Turkish-Greek, Turkish-Arabic and Turkish-Armenian.

MO 088Spread from lithographic-printed publicationLibrary of Qarawiyyin University1909The first use of lithographic printing in Morocco was documented in 1865; it later became a common technique in the country.

AT 091Abdülaziz (1830–1876)Austrian National Libraryc. 1861As photography developed, official photographic portraits were taken of European and Ottoman kings and sultans. A new figure arose – the court photographer – as photography became a common technique to immortalise events and personalities.

RO 012A young and an old TurkNational Museum of Romanian HistorySecond half of the 19th centuryCarol Popp de Szathmari is considered to be the first Romanian certified photographer and the first war photographer in Europe (during the Crimean war). He was the official photographer of Alexandru Ioan Cuza and of King Carol I. He produced five photograph albums of peoples and places in Romania.

RO 011Album de la Dobrudgea by Anatol MagrinNational Museum of Romanian HistoryEnd of the 19th centuryDuring the 19th century, the commercial development of photography resulted in the spread of photograph albums to celebrate people, places and events and the growing interest in “exotic” places or populations, and to represent “the other”.

TR2 141The Train Station from AnatoliaIstanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)Late 19th centuryPhotographThe Yıldız Albums were commissioned by Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid to represent the Ottoman Empire’s costumes, schools, buildings, people, personalities and technical innovations, and to promote a modern image of the Ottoman empire and counterbalance European orientalist imagery. One technical innovation, photography, was used to celebrate other innovations.

Working NumberNameHolding MuseumDateMaterialsCurator Justification
TR2 138The Hijaz Railway DelegationsIstanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)Late 19th century – beginning of the 20th centuryPhotographThe construction of the Hijaz Railway was celebrated as a public event by Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid and involved important personalities from the Ottoman Empire. With a celebratory aim, the photographs of the delegations travelling along the Hijaz displayed the modernisation of the ancient Muslim pilgrimage route.
TR2 143The Hijaz Railway construction workersIstanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)Late 19th century – begining of the 20th centuryPhotographAnother photo from the Yıldız Albums. The construction of the railways had social consequences: new kind of jobs were offered, populations moved from the country to cities, and this gave birth to a new working class.
TR2 109Convoy of pilgrimsIstanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)19th centuryPhotographThe construction of the Hijaz Railway was celebrated by the Ottoman Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid as an innovation that facilitated the Muslim pilgrimage.
TR2 125Ottoman Clothing AlbumIstanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)Late 19th century – beginning of the 20th centuryPhotographPascal Sebah, born in Istanbul, was one of the most famous photographers in the 19th century. He had his own photographic studio and collaborated in the creation of the Yıldız Albums, a large collection of photographs of people, technical innovations, places and personalities of the Ottoman Empire.

FR 073HaremNational Library of France c. 1870Pascal Sebah had his photographic studio in Istanbul. He portrayed a wide range of subjects, some of them, such as his views of Istanbul, very realistic, and others based on fashionable topics influenced by orientalism, such as the representation of the harem inspired by European fantasies.

SP 086Portrait of the Marquess of Cerralbo in a Turkish GarmentCerralbo Museum1889Paper; albumen printThe Abdullah brothers were the most famous Ottoman photographers in Istanbul, Cairo and Europe. They used the albumen print technique, printing on a specific kind of paper from a negative using egg white to fix the image. Their portraits represented “exotic” clichés (usually to satisfy European customers’ taste) or a realistic approach when portraying local people.

TR2 024The Port From The Galata TowerPera MuseumMid-19th centuryAlbumen PaperThe Abdullah brothers also made very realistic albumen prints documenting landscape and monuments in Istanbul. They became the court photographers of Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid and they opened their own studios in Istanbul and Cairo.

SP 010Photograph: Music School, SyriaNational Museum of Anthropology1898–1906Silver gelatin print, grey cardboard The stereoscopic photograph was produced by a technique involving viewing two apparently identical images with a tool (the stereoscope) which gave the illusion of three-dimensionality and movement. The stereoscope was a popular form of entertainment, showing fashionable subjects such as “exotic” places and international exhibitions.

MC 041Film camera of the Manaki brothersThe Archive of the City of Bitola1905Cinematography, whose invention was credited to the French Lumière brothers, had gone beyond the boundaries of France. It represented a further development of photographic and optical techniques such as Thomas Edison’s kinetograph and celluloid film. By 1905, cinematography was developing into an art form.

ET3 005Archaeological excavationsMinistry of Antiquities1912The silver gelatin print was another photographic process that was developed late in the 19th century and it became commonly used for photographs through the 20th century. Portraits were popular subjects but so also was visual documentation, as in this case, of scientific and archaeological missions.