Kodak Publishes Historic Photos
One Hundred Year Old Photographs Come To Life In A New Book
The collaboration between Kodak and The Center for Western Studies of Augustana College, Impressions of Tribal Life , features photographs by Father Ambrose Mattingly
Impressions of Tribal Life is a compilation of photographs taken by Father Ambrose Mattingly, OSB, who came to the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota in August 1888 as a priest with Immaculate Conception Indian Mission at Stephan.
With Kodak’s introduction simple easy to use roll film cameras, Father Ambrose pursued photography from 1895 to 1905, capturing images that reveal a great deal about life on the reservation.
The book illustrates the historical significance of old photographs, especially those of everyday scenes. Photography of routine activities and familiar scenes provides documentary evidence of a period in time.
The rescue of old photos highlights the importance of printing photos. As technology changes current digital storage methods will become obsolete and digital photos may become lost or very hard to retrieve. This book shows that the humble print will probably outlast the CD as a readily readable image storage source.
The photo book features digital scans of glass plate images enhanced by combining them with Native American artifacts, adding color, and texture. The U.S. Geological Survey office provided the scans, while the artifacts come from the personal collection of Kodak executive Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, who initiated the project.
“Impressions of Tribal Life brings the remarkable photography of Father Ambrose to public consciousness after more than a century,” said Hayzlett, Chief Business Development Officer and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “It also demonstrates the opportunities for producing short run, high quality color photo books with a NEXPRESS Press. We are proud to be part of this exciting project.”
A repository for more than 200 archival collections, The Center for Western Studies maintains a library in excess of 35,000 volumes on the American West. The Center preserves and interprets the history and cultures of the northern plains states.
