Voorgevel van de Beurs van Hamburg 1876

Editor: This is a gelatin-silver print from 1876, titled "Voorgevel van de Beurs van Hamburg" by Sophus Williams. It looks like a photograph of the Hamburg stock exchange building. The whole image is muted in tone and the composition seems really symmetrical. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Considering this was captured in 1876, a period of immense industrial expansion and colonial ambition, the image reads to me as a document of burgeoning capitalist infrastructure. Look closely at the almost militaristic symmetry of the building and the cobblestone plaza – what ideologies of order and control do you think are being represented here? Editor: Order and control definitely seem apparent! But I'm wondering who exactly that "order" was intended to serve, considering it was a stock exchange... Curator: Precisely! We need to ask: who had access to this "order"? Whose interests were being centered in the creation and control of capital during this period? Were the benefits of Hamburg's booming trade and economy shared equitably, or were they built on exploitation and exclusion? Editor: I guess looking at it that way, this photograph reveals more than just the architecture of the building itself; it exposes the power structures inherent within economic institutions. Curator: Exactly. This image prompts us to consider the role photography played in constructing and disseminating a certain image of progress and prosperity. Do you think Williams was intentionally highlighting these issues? Or unintentionally? What are your thoughts? Editor: This makes me rethink photography's role, especially early photography. Thanks for pointing out the connection between the built environment and the underlying social structures, as well as photography’s relationship to those ideas. Curator: And thank you for being so receptive. It is rewarding to unpack the layered meanings of this photograph together.