Snapshots with an edge a study of the deckle edge in the North American snapshot

This thesis takes an object-based approach to the amateur snapshot through an in-depth examination of the deckle edge, a form of snapshot presentation popular in the mid-twentieth century. Research draws primarily from a sample of 321 dated deckle edge snapshots in the collection of the Archive of Modern Conflict, Toronto, and from Kodak trade periodicals held by Ryerson University Special Collections. The thesis examines the formerly undelineated dates of the deckle edge snapshot’s popularity, the various devices used to create the deckle edge, the multiplicities of edge variation blanketed under the term “deckle edge,” the appearance of the deckle edge in Kodak advertising, and the routes by which the deckle edge came to the snapshot. By situating the deckle edge snapshot in these contexts, the thesis demonstrates the value of approaching snapshots as dynamic, physical objects, and the kinds of information that can be derived from their non-image areas.