The George Eastman Museum was named after the creator of the Kodak company. Eastman was a pioneer in film and photography, and the museum rightly claims to be the first in the world to focus solely on photography.
“The first travel photographs were going to be seen by people who couldn’t travel themselves,” Allen said. “Now that travel is open, you can get to more places and see more things. Our definition of travel photography has changed.
Allen said the purpose of the exhibit is to pull gems from the museum’s collection that aren’t usually on display. Of the 450,000 total items in the photography department, she says, “some of these photographs don’t see the light of day. There are photographs by Ansel Adams that are more startling, and it gives you the opportunity to look at something other than what a photographer has done than what he is famous for.
She added: “Sights weren’t so prescriptive back then. In the beginning, you wouldn’t have your own camera, so the person making the image is a professional photographer, and you buy that image from them or from a store.
Here we’ve looked at some of our favorites from that show, which include photographs from over 100 years ago.