Portret van een onbekende vrouw met spinnewiel in klederdracht van Assen, Drenthe 1860 - 1890

This is an albumen print of an unknown woman with spinning wheel in traditional clothing from Assen, Drenthe, made by Andries Jager. It presents an image of Dutch rural life. But what does it mean for rural life to be staged like this, to be presented for viewing in the city? The woman’s clothing marks her out as coming from a particular region. Meanwhile the spinning wheel suggests traditional values associated with domestic labor. In the Netherlands during this time, regional identities were becoming assimilated into a new sense of national identity. This photograph therefore participates in a wider cultural process of defining what it meant to be Dutch at a moment of great social change. Understanding photography like this requires us to look into a range of sources from the period. Social histories of the Netherlands, histories of national identity, studies of folk culture, and the history of photography itself can all contribute to a deeper understanding of this seemingly simple image.