Soon after the invention of photography, people began to hand alter
their photographs. At first photographers made notes on glass plates and
negatives that would appear on their images. As photography grew in
popularity, there were hobby activities such as hand tinting and cutting
photos into attractive shapes. When Kodak invented the Autographic
camera in 1914, amateurs were encouraged to use the camera's supplied
stylus to write notes on the edge of the film's paper backing.
Autographic advertisements stated that the intention was for the notes
to appear in the margins however "they may be shown on the print
itself-if desired."
Along with these widely known practices, snap shooters also routinely
and fearlessly, with pen in hand, wrote directly on their snapshots.
Names, dates, stories and witticisms written on borders or across the
image, along with arrows, numbers, cartoonish circles drawn around eyes,
and faces scribbled out, are a few examples of the ways people ensured
their snapshots expressed personal sentiments and stories. The
personalizing tradition continues today as can be witnessed by the
popularity of image alteration programs such as Photoshop. But then,
unlike today, there was no effort to conceal the embellishments people
made to their photographs. Crudely personalized and written on vintage
snapshots are often funny, surprising and oddly endearing.