#glassnegatives

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July is National Picnic Month, a fact which Marriot Morris clearly knew. This image was taken by Morris on July 7, 1888 at 2:30 pm.

Special shoutout to whoever balanced the egg on the wine bottle!

Morris, Marriott. Party at dinner in woods at Highlands, [NJ]. July 7, 1888.

#otd #nationalpicnicmonth #LCPprints #photography #glassnegatives #picnic #19thcenturyfashion #benslibrary

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Marriott C. Morris captured this image of his sister, Bessie, and their friend, Alice Shipley, sketching beside a river in Sea Girt, NJ #OnThisDay in 1886. What a dreamy way to spend a summer afternoon! #MorrisMonday

Marriott Canby Morris. Alice & Bessie sketching below overflow, (Backs), [Sea Girt, NJ] July 22, 1886.       

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Marriott C. Morris captured this image of his friends Anne and Mary Emlen in August, 1885, while in Sea Girt, NJ. Notice the flower tucked in one of the sister’s buttonholes!

#MorrisMonday

Marriott Canby Morris. Anne & Mary Emlen sitting on beach, [Sea Girt, NJ] August 23, 1885. 1 photograph: glass negative; 4 x 5 in.         

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Back to work! It’s #MorrisMonday and we’re getting some workweek inspiration from Janet Morris, pictured here carrying firewood while camping with her family at the Pocono Lake Preserve in September, 1909.

The Pocono Lake Preserve was pioneered by a group of Quakers, including Isaac Sharpless, who camped in the area in 1904. In 1908, this group bought the property from the Pocono Mountain Ice Company and designed it as a basic, rustic campground.

Marriott Canby Morris. [Janet Morris carrying wood], Pocono Lake, [PA] September 1909. 1 photograph: film negative; 3.5 x 5.5 in.         

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We love all the facial expressions and angles in this family portrait by Marriott C. Morris (August, 1884), including those of the dog sitting on Sam Morris’ lap.  

#MorrisMonday 

Marriott Canby Morris. [Group in porch steps. Father, Mother, Uncle William Canby, Henry Mathews Canby, Marriott C., Bessie & Sam, Avocado, Sea Girt, NJ] August 1, 1884.         

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#TFW it’s Monday....

Marriott C. Morris captured this image in July, 1888 on Mount Desert Island, the largest island off the coast of Maine. The island was popularized in the mid-19th century by Hudson River School painters as a nature retreat. From the late 19th century to around the 1930s the Island was a popular tourist destination. #MorrisMonday

Marriott Canby Morris. The girls are left behind us or "deserted at Mt. Desert."[Mount Desert Island, ME]. July 23, 1888. 1 photograph: glass negative; 4 x 5 in.    

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Marriott C. Morris was given this ram-shaped gingerbread cookie in February, 1885, when he was a student at Haverford College #LambsintheLibrary 

Morris was a member of a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family who took his first photographs during his freshman year at Haverford College. Morris continued to document his life through photographs of his large extended family and network of friends, his Germantown neighborhood, and his many travels across the East Coast and even Bermuda. #MorrisMonday

Morris, Marriott Canby, 1863-1948, photographer. Gingerbread sheep, [given by fellows, Haverford College] February 27, 1885 1 photograph: glass negative; 4 x 5 in.

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Negative/Positive

Many of the photographs in the Marriott C. Morris Collection come in the form of glass negatives. The negatives of people are especially arresting, their faces emerging like ghosts from the lightbox. While haunting, these negatives hide details about the sitter that only emerge when the positive image is created. Marriott C. Morris’ father Elliston P. Morris’ kind eyes are obscured in the negative version of his portrait but gaze out warmly from the positive image. 

Negatives hide things but also reveal them. For example, in the negative view of Morris’ portrait the emulsion has been burnished around the face and small scratches made to emphasize areas of light and create shadow. This shows Marriott C. Morris’ hand not only in taking the photograph, but also the refinement of the negative, the physical act of dragging metal across glass.

Read more from Alison Van Denend, our former Assistant Project Manager for the Marriott C. Morris Photograph Collection.