The Victorian studio was a theatre of illusion, and the painted background was its curtain. From misty romantic landscapes and gothic ruins to sharply focused parlor interiors, the backdrop set the context for the sitter. This theme explores the artistry of the scenic painters and the use of "foreground" accessories—fake grass, rugs, and architectural fragments—used to seamlessly blend the floor with the wall, suspending the subject in a fabricated reality.
| Introduction |
| 1 | Introduction to backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 2 | Manufacturers and painters of studio backgrounds |
| Daguerreotypists and painted studio backgrounds |
| 3 | Studio painted backgrounds for daguerreotypes |
| 4 | Antoine Claudet: Backgrounds for daguerreotypes |
| 5 | Salt prints: Backgrounds |
| 6 | Ambrotypes: Backgrounds |
| 7 | Cartes de visite: Backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 8 | Cabinet cards: Backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 9 | Tintypes: Backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 10 | Real Photo Postcards: Backgrounds and foregrounds |
| Contemporary accounts |
| 11 | Backgrounds |
| 12 | Studio backgrounds |
| 13 | How Nineteenth Century Studios used backgrounds |
| Examples of studio backgrounds |
| 14 | Backgrounds used in nineteenth century photographic studios |
| Use of painted external walls as backgrounds |
| 15 | William Notman: Use of the painted exterior wall of his Montreal Studio as a background |
| Designs for backgrounds |
| 16 | Backgrounds - how to paint and arrange them (1859) |
| 17 | David Knights-Whittome: Photographic backgrounds |
| 18 | Surviving photographic backgrounds |
| Background holders and supports |
| 19 | Background holders and supports |
| Revolving backgrounds |
| 20 | Revolving backgrounds |
| Suppliers of backgrounds |
| 21 | Advertising for manufacturers and suppliers of backgrounds |
| Paintings showing backgrounds in photographic studios |
| 22 | Paintings showing backgrounds in use |
| Foreground and background themes |
| 23 | Backgrounds: Domestic interiors |
| 24 | Backgrounds: Transportation |
| 25 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Carts |
| 26 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Cars |
| 27 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Railways |
| 28 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Balloons |
| 29 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Aircraft |
| 30 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Space Age and missiles |
| 31 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Boats |
| 32 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Bars and saloons |
| 33 | Studio backgrounds and foregrounds: Prisons and prisoners |
| 34 | Backgrounds: Landscapes |
| 35 | Water as an element in studio backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 36 | Patriotic and military backgrounds for portraits during the American Civil War (1861-1865) |
| 37 | Martinique: Studio portraits |
| Foregrounds |
| 38 | Introduction to foregrounds |
| 39 | Foregrounds: Windows |
| 40 | Mummies and Sphinxes as foreground props |
| Incongruous backgrounds |
| 41 | Backgrounds: Incongruous |
| Visibility |
| 42 | The all to visible background |
| Street photographers |
| 43 | Backgrounds: Street photographers |
| Case studies |
| 44 | Jean-Philippe Charbonnier: The Biter Bit |
| 45 | Ann Parker: Itinerant photographers of Guatemala (1970s) |
| 46 | Philip K. Apagya: Aspirational backgrounds in studio portraiture |
| 47 | Clarisse d'Arcimoles: Forget Nostalgia - A Little Theatre of Self (2012) |
| 48 | Martin Parr: Autoportrait |
| Patents for backgrounds |
| 49 | Patents for photographic backgrounds and foregrounds |
| 50 | C.M. Coolidge: US patent No. 149,724, Processes of Taking Photographic Pictures (1874) |
| Conclusions |
| 51 | Conclusions to backgrounds and foregrounds |
