An Alternative History of Photography

Amy Davies reviews a fascinating new book that takes a fresh view on the history of photography

- Philip Prodger

TRADITIONAL histories of photography have typically taken a Westernised, white-centric, male point of view. In this book, celebrated curator and author Philip Prodger attempts to redress the balance of those missing from such standard tomes with an ‘alternative’ look at those who contributed to the medium.

Images are drawn from the extraordinary Solander Collection – which Prodger co-created with his colleague Graham Howe. Named after the Solander box – the cloth-covered black box that museums use to store flat works such as photographs – it isn’t an attempt to be a comprehensive history of photography, but rather, collects works bound by a set of principles.