Stadsgezicht met sluis 1899

This albumen print, “Stadsgezicht met sluis,” or “Cityscape with Lock,” was made in 1899 by Frits Freerks Fontein Fz. Albumen printing was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative. The process involves coating paper with a layer of egg white albumen and then sensitizing it in a silver nitrate solution. A negative is placed on the prepared paper, and exposed to sunlight until the desired level of detail is achieved, after which it's washed, toned, and fixed. Looking at the image, we can see the incredible level of detail achieved through this process, from the brickwork of the buildings to the reflections on the water. There's an almost palpable sense of history embedded in this image, not just in the scene itself, but in the layers of photographic chemistry that have been so carefully manipulated to bring it into being. So next time you look at an image like this, remember that it's not just a record of a place, but a record of the labor, expertise, and material processes that went into its making.