This essay defines the category of “visual history” and introduces its operations across the essays included in this special issue. It proposes that such narratives accelerated time in cultures where it became increasingly common to traverse spatial distances. In this way, visual histories are not simply guides to the times, but guides to time itself.

中文翻译：

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视觉历史：图片中的过去

本文定义了“视觉历史”的类别，并介绍了本期特刊中所有文章的运作方式。它建议这种叙事加速了文化中的时间，在这种文化中，穿越空间距离变得越来越普遍。这样，视觉历史不仅可以指导时间，而且可以指导时间本身。