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Eadweard Muybridge

Sequence of black and white photos showing a well dressed man walking and taking off his hat.

Plate 44—Walking, taking off hat, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 8 x 13 3/4 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Series of black and white image of a woman in 19th century dress bending down to pick up her handkerchief

Plate 211—Stooping and lifting handkerchief; parasol in left hand, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 7 ¾ x 13 ¾ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing a woman in old fashioned dress executing a lawn tennis serve.

Plate 298—Lawn tennis; serving, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size10 x 12 3/8 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Series of black and white photographs showing he motions of a woman in 19th century dress picking uo a ball and throwing it.

Plate 306—Picking up a ball and throwing it, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 7 ⅞ x 15 ⅛ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Series of black and white photos showing the movements of a man in a loin cloth heaving a large rock.

Plate 319—Heaving 75-lb. rock, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 5 ¼ x 18 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

SEries of black and white photographs showing the movements of two boxers—one knocks the other down.

Plate 333—Boxing; 58 knocking 52 down (shoes), 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 9 ⅞ x 9 ⅞ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing two men fencing.

Plate 349—Fencing, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 7 x 16 1/2 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of two men boxing.

Plate 331—Boxing; stop for cross-buttocks (shoes), 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 8 x 14 1/2 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of man as he does a hand spring, with a legion interrupting.

Plate 365—Head-spring, a flying pigeon interfering, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 8 x 14 1/4 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of woman in a sheet dress opening a parasol.

Plate 461—Opening a parasol, and turning around, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 7 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of small cod giving a bouquet of flowers to a kneeling woman.

Plate 465—Child bringing a bouquet to a woman (Two Models, Child 70N, Bringing Bouquet to 12), 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 9 3/4 x 12 1/8 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of man doing yogic contortions.

Plate 510—Contortions on the ground, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 7 1/4 x 16 1/2 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of kicking donkey.

Plate 659, Mule; A, B, bucking and kicking Ruth, 1887
Vintage Collotype
Image size 9 3/4 x 12 1/2 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence f black and white photos showing the movements of an elk galloping

Plate 693—Elk; galloping, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 9 ¼ x 12 ⅛ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of a galloping buffalo.

Plate 700—Buffalo; galloping, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 8 7/8 x 13 5/8 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of a trotting cat.

Plate 718—Cat; trotting; change to galloping, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 6 5/8 x 17 1/2 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing a male lion pacing.

Plate 721—Lion; walking, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 8 ⅛ x 12 ¼ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing a tigress lion pacing.

Plate 729—Tigress; walking, 1887
Vintage colloytpe
Image size: 7 ½ x 15 ½ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing movements of a walking elephant.

Plate 733—Elephant; walking, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 8 1/8 x 14 7/8 in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Sequence of black and white photos showing a camel galloping.

Plate 740—Bactrian camel; (young), galloping, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size: 8 ⅝ x 13 ⅛ in.
Sheet size 14 x 20 in.

Biography

It all began with a horse. In 1872, the former governor of California, Leland Stanford, hired Eadweard Muybridge to make a photograph that would be the first of its kind: a picture capturing the gait of his racehorse Occident galloping at full speed. Thus began Muybridge’s quest to develop high-speed photography that could capture “animal locomotion”.

On June 15th, 1878, the press was invited to witness Muybridge's early achievements in this area. At a Palo Alto race track, he arranged a bank of 12 cameras equipped with shutters triggered by tripwires, with which he could capture the movements of a galloping horse. The news of this innovation was reported across the world—publishers could not yet reproduce high-quality photographs, so magazines like Scientific American printed the images using wood engravings.

Muybridge was invited to continue this work at the University of Pennsylvania, and between 1883 and 1886 he worked prolifically, creating sequential images with his multi-camera setup in his new outdoor studio. He recruited athletes and local residents as models, and even borrowed animals from the Philadelphia Zoo. The photos were published in 1887 as an 11 volume collotype portfolio with 781 plates: Animal Locomotion: an Electro-photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Animal Movements.