GEORGE HENRY FOX'S Photographic illustrations of skin diseases and the clinical photograph in late nineteenth-century America

George Henry Fox was a New York physician and author in the late nineteenth century. His interest in collecting photographs of notable dermatological cases led to the publication of several photographically illustrated dermatology texts between 1879 and the early twentieth century. This thesis focuses on the fIrst and second editions of Fox's Photographic Illustrations of Skin Diseases, published in 1879 and 1885, respectively. The hand-coloured Artotype plates from these two editions are analyzed and contrasted in terms of the influence of studio portraiture, issues of patient anonymity and consent, and the aesthetic changes between editions. The power relationships and scientifIc classifIcation involved in depicting the body on ftlm are also considered. The books are on textualized with discussions of nineteenth-century American medical history, the use of clinical photographs as illustrations, photomechanical processes, late nineteenth-century dermatology texts, and Fox's biography.