Giek van roeivereniging De Hoop before 1894

This photograph, titled “Giek van roeivereniging De Hoop”, was taken by Hendrik Herman van den Berg. This albumen print shows members of the De Hoop rowing club gliding along Amsterdam’s waterways. The albumen process, invented in 1850, involved coating paper with egg white before exposing it to light through a negative. This process yielded sharp, detailed images with a distinctive sepia tone, and was especially popular for portraits and landscapes. In this case, the tonal range adds a softness to the industrial setting, imbuing it with nostalgia. The choice of the albumen process, with its labor-intensive preparation and reliance on organic materials, highlights the contrast between the increasingly mechanized world and the traditional crafts that persisted alongside it. Van den Berg's photograph captures a moment of leisure within this changing landscape, subtly commenting on the evolving relationship between work, class, and recreation in the early 20th century.