internet artist josh begley has compiled every front page of the new york times since 1852 and created a fascinating visual timeline that documents the history of the image. taking the form of a video, the piece feeds through thousands of pages collected from the late 19th century up to the present day, capturing the chronology of text and picture based layouts. while early examples are clearly devoid of any imagery, later covers begin to feature some hand-drawn illustrations, before the introduction of the camera completely changes the face of the publishing industry.

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the 55 second long video rapidly streams through the most major international events in history, yet its mesmerizing quality is truly triggered by the introduction of photography. in 1910, the new york times sponsored a risky flight by american aviation pioneer glenn curtiss, which resulted in the newspaper’s first front page photograph. from here, begley’s film demonstrates the paper’s increasing use of black and white images, before color photography changes the game; today, a multitude of pictures feature liberally across front pages. more than 60,000 covers are included in the short film, packing history into a single, hypnotizing minute. 

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