Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een boek in haar handen 1846 - 1860

This portrait of an unknown woman, captured by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, is a small photographic print, a calling card if you like. Photography in this era – the mid-19th century – was a complex alchemical process, involving a darkroom, glass plates, and various chemical baths. The resulting sepia tone imbues the image with a sense of history, but also speaks to photography’s inherent nature of capturing light, shadow, and time. Consider the sitter’s dress. Its voluminous folds speak of the labor involved in its creation: from the spinning of thread to the weaving of fabric, to the skilled hands of a dressmaker. Each stitch represents time and effort, a testament to the social and economic structures of the Victorian era. The book in her hands hints at leisure, education, and the changing role of women in society. So, next time you see a photograph, remember that it’s not just an image. It’s a physical record of a moment, a process, and a whole world of making.