Book DescriptionBefore the invention of photography, civil engineers employed topographic artists to record the progression of their projects. Termed "record pictures," these illustrations followed the tradition of the Dutch topographical landscapes of the 17th century, combining the qualities of detail and clarity with the objectivity of technical drawings. As such, record pictures had a scientific rather than an artistic purpose, just as most photography did in its infancy. Photography?s prime value was historically regarded as its ability to make highly detailed, objective (and relatively inexpensive) records. Industry was quick to harness the new medium to make record pictures. Significantly, one of the founders of Britain?s Photographic Society was a leading civil engineer. This original application gave rise to a genre of landscape photography that has not been properly recognized. Record Pictures: Photographs from the Archive of the Institution of Civil Engineers...