This Wayback Wednesday we are taking things waaaaay back, as far as we can go (photographically at least) to rowing pre-1900. What makes this such a unique challenge is the single-lens reflex camera (the film version of the digital cameras we shoot with today) wasn’t produced until 1884. The first permanent photograph of a camera image wasn't made until 1825 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Despite this we were able to track down a few really interesting rowing photos!

Following up on last week’s Wayback Wednesday, our first photo this week comes from row2k reader Charlotte Wiley. Her great-great-great aunt Harriet Merrow attended Wellesley (the first Women's Collegiate crew team) in the late 1880/90s. This photo was taken during that time period.

While rowing photography is a relatively “new” medium, rowing in the US has been around for a while. The first US rowing club was the Detroit Boat Club, founded in 1839. While Yale, the first collegiate boat club in the U.S. was founded in 1843. Harvard also formed a boat club in the 1840's. Harvard claims the title of oldest photo in our collection from 1858.

Harvard and Yale began to race each other in 1852, starting America’s oldest collegiate competition. To put that in perspective the Civil War began in 1861.

If you have any old school rowing images we should check out and are allowed to share, please send them to us.