Giant ant hill or termite nest, Western Australia. Late 1890s.

Printing-out-paper gelatin silver print, 108 x 114 mm; inscribed in pencil on the verso ‘An Ant-hill, West. Aus.’; in fine condition, unmounted.

This photograph was probably taken by an amateur photographer, and is therefore quite possibly a unique image.

A NOTE ON THE PRINTING-OUT-PAPER PROCESS

‘A process common from 1860 to 1940, printing-out-paper (POP) uses strong levels of ultraviolet sunlight to bring out a visible image, rather than the chemical development required by developing-out paper. These papers were contact printed, a method most often associated with 19th-century photography. Commercially prepared printing-out-papers are still made and printed today, although they are considered a specialty product.’ (MoMA, New York)