Two Views, Both Not Quite Photographs

From a 1902 postcard, a profile view of the Brooklyn Bridge (with bonus Fulton ferry) and a smaller view of the walkway.

If you know the bridge well, as I do, the promenade view is actually quite accurate, but I suspect it’s a little bit difficult to parse for people who haven’t been on that walkway again and again. Also, it’s a little weird that there’s a big group of people up ahead by the tower but none closer. Is it something I said?

This 1910 postcard of the walkway has a much more modern feel to it.

It’s obviously based on a photograph, which was then hand-colored. To some extent, that technique means that this is a more-than-usually-accurate painting rather than a photo, but the results look good. Interestingly, the older card is also a photo, turned into an engraving, a process that resulted in a monochrome but more detailed image. The loss of fine detail in the 1910 image makes it hard to see the diagonal brace cables that are in the same plane as the suspender cables, while they are quite prominent in the 1902 image.

But, if I lay off the geekery for a moment, the 1902 profile view gives a great view of the bridge from a distance, and the 1910 image gives a good feel of walking over the bridge, even with the “missing” diagonals.