Taisho-era House

photo-comparison from "the Taisho photographer's house" by Hamish Campbell

 The black-and-white portion of this image comes from a century-old trove of glass plate photographs discovered by Tokyo-based photographer Hamish Campbell. The original owner of the house was himself an avid photographer who converted one of his closets into a darkroom.

 Of these images, Campbell writes...

In a secluded bamboo grove in northern Japan, I stumbled across an old family homestead. On site were over 200 glass plate negatives dating back to the Taisho era of Japan [the Emperor Taishō, reigned 1912-1926] showing the construction of the house and the lives of those who lived there for many years. In these images the passage of time is both clearly evident and a blurred line, as we see the house both as a busy family nexus and a quiet companion to nature as it is returns to the earth. Exhibited at Artsite Gallery, Sydney, from May 7th-29th 2016.

 Selected images from this series can be viewed at the photographer's website. Additional discussion appears at Petapixel.

 While many of the images in Campbell's trove feature domestic scenes, the photograph below is of architectural interest. It shows builders assembling the house's timber frame using traditional joinery methods. Carefully cut tongues are hammered into corresponding slots — no nails needed.

building the Taisho photographer's house, collection of Hamish Campbell