Mercury is a Messenger: Photography’s Dependence on Quicksilver and Mining Labor

Mercury was necessary to early photography, from developing the daguerreotype plate with its fumes to the extraction of silver through a process of amalgamation. But these minerals were acquired at great cost to both land and laborers. This essay traces the transatlantic trade in mercury and silver through its replacement by nineteenth-century transpacific and intra-American networks, underscoring the imperial relationships and labor histories that underlie photography’s mineral dependencies. Specifically, it focuses on visual expresses of mining labor, including mistreatment and resistance at three sites: Almadén, Spain; Pachuca in New Spain, the area now known as Mexico; and Almaden, California. The result is a more global and deep-rooted conception of “American” photography.