#4360. Pyrotechnics and photography: saltpeter and the colonial history of photographic lighting

September 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
Visual Arts and Performing Arts;
Cultural Studies;
Communication;
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More details about the manuscript: Arts & Humanities Citation Index or/and Science Citation Index Expanded
Abstract:
Bengal light was among the earliest commercial sources of artificial lighting for photographic use. Essentially, a pyrotechnic flare whose vital ingredient was saltpeter, it was mined by low caste laborers in Bengal, which had emerged as the leading global producer of saltpeter by the eighteenth century. Saltpeter was a coveted global commodity because it served as the primary material for the manufacture of gunpowder and also had wide-ranging industrial applications. Its use for photography provides an early instance of the commodification and trade in lighting technologies and materials, challenging dominant assumptions about photographic light as a freely available natural resource accessible to all. Encapsulated in its use is an imperial history of global trade that hinged on extraction of natural sources, colonial labor, and alliances between military and industrial technologies of light.
Keywords:
Bengal light; photography; leading global producer; saltpeter

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