The Vernacular - 7/10/14

Definition: (noun) 1. The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region: "he wrote in the vernacular to reach a larger audience".

Before 1839 photography was an expensive practice and exclusive only for scientists, it wasn't until failed, English artist William Henry Fox Talbot produced paper that was sensitive to light that photography became closer to being an activity for the masses.

His process (called "calotype") allowed images to be reproduced again and again, unlike his competitor Louis Daguerre's "Daguerreotypes" which were pictures on expensive silverplate and couldn't be reproduced.

William Henry Fox Talbot, "An oak tree in winter", c.1842-43.

In 1900, the Kodak Brownie came along, and this device was for everyone! This camera saw the introduction of picture postcards, and in 1903 over 700 million postcards were sent in America.

Kodak Brownie