Histories of photography are useful in contextualizing your photographer. Many historical surveys can be found at TR15. Histories of American photography can be found at TR23 and TR646. Histories of photography of particular countries or other specialized histories can be found by doing a subject search.
A World History of Photography by 
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A New History of Photography by This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window
Photography by This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window
Color: American Photography Transformed by This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window
Seizing the Light: A Social History of Photography by This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window