From Travel to Tourism: The Social and Cultural Impact of Photography as a New Medium of Communication in 19th-Century America

This article examines the relationship between the introduction of photography into American society in 1839 and changes in the concept of travel during the 19th century. Principles about the social consequences of photography formulated from the works of Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Marshall McLuhan, Lewis Mumford, and Susan Sontag serve as a framework to compare and contrast the predominant concepts of travel presented in magazine articles of travel advice published before and after the advent of photography. The principles focus on the medium's capacity to influence social and cultural thought and activity.