Exhibit Review: This Sneeze Was for Science

Abstract: This review examines This Sneeze Was for Science , an exhibition at Duke University’s Rubenstein Library, on view from November 7, 2025 to April 5, 2026. The exhibition, which draws from the Consumer Reports organization’s archive held at Duke, explores how photography functioned as a key tool in establishing scientific authority, credibility, and public trust in mid-twentieth-century consumer culture. Featuring twenty-nine black-and-white photographs from the 1930s through the 1970s, the exhibition highlights Consumer Reports’ rigorous product testing practices, custom-built testing equipment, and editorial techniques that transformed scientific evaluation into compelling visual evidence. The review situates the exhibition within the broader history of consumer advocacy, photography, and product testing, while pointing to the rich research potential of the expansive Consumer Reports archive.