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The development of the postcard genre was dependent on several variables. Among these were technological innovations. Photography, invented in 1839, made the production of images much less labor intensive than having an artist produce visual representations of objects. The improvement of printing techniques allowed companies to produce postcards more inexpensively than before. The end of the 1890s witnessed the beginning of the production of color picture postcards created from black-and-white photographic negatives, increasing the illusion of reality that the postcard offered. The Detroit Publishing Company's catalog promoted its visual products stating, "To know pictures is to know history, biography, literature, mythology; to feel religion and to respond to the gentle teachings of nature." Another page noted, "We publish views of the world." In the United States, the Detroit Publishing Company distinguished itself as a leader in the new printing technologies. The company produced beautifully printed color postcards to document architecture, nature, production, transportation, and celebrations, as well as cultural groups and foreign views. These categories reflect the desire to collect and organize information about the world, similar to the emergence of libraries and museums as societal institutions.