Page 126 - Expanded Media & the MediaPlex

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William Notman: Skating Carnival, 1870. Painted composite, silver salts, oil on canvas, albumen process 137 x 176 cm
“Skating Carnival was Notman’s most ambitious undertaking in composite photography - a technique
he is credited with developing and popularizing in North America. The process began with an overall
design for the finished picture, and then individual or small group photographic portraits were made—
prints of which would eventually be cut out and pasted onto a composite negative and then printed
again. Skating Carnival was made from more than three hundred individual photographs, and its
creation makes evident Notman’s keen sense of marketing. In one fell swoop he advertised his studio
and its impressive access to key events, while appealing to the social aspirations of both his
established and potential clientele.” (Sarah Parsons: William Notman Life and Work https://aci-iac.ca/) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skating_carnival_Montreal_by_Notman.jpg
OK - it’s not Derby Day, but technically very interesting as a precursor to the range of photographic technics in early XXth century - heralded by collage, photomontage, photograms and camera-less photography - He was following a technique invented by Hill & Adamson for their large composite portrait of the General Assemby (1843) - but here the individual photo-portraits are being painted upon - not painted from - directly by Nottman.
(see Hill & Adamson: page 57-58)