Circulation Without Printing: The International Reach of Lippmann Photography

Abstract Gabriel Lippmann’s (1845–1921) so called interferential photography, one of the earliest procedures of color photography, never became a popular practice due to the difficulties to reproduce Lippmann photographs in print, but was widely known among and practiced in academic and scientific circles. This article takes German physicist-engineer Hans Lehmann’s (1875–1917) attempt at reproducing a Lippmann plate, as well as its shortcomings, as a starting point for exploring this restrictive condition in depth. Then, it shifts the graphic arts distribution paradigm to demonstrate how, in the absence of widespread printing, interferential color photography, as a material object as well as knowledge about light and chemistry, circulated internationally, through two case studies: the first dealing with company-based circulation through the sales of Lippmann plates and the second focusing on personal international networks of exchange that helped scientists access knowledge about it. In doing so, this text integrates Lippmann photography, often deemed a niche practice, in a global-systemic approach to the history of the medium, proving it reached various corners of the globe, against all odds.