Gezicht op het Damrak en de Korenbeurs in Amsterdam 1860 - 1883

This photograph of the Damrak and the Korenbeurs in Amsterdam was created by Andries Jager. As a photographic print, its materiality speaks volumes about the industrial and social conditions of its time. The sepia tones and the level of detail are not accidental; they're direct results of the chemical processes involved in early photography. This wasn't just pointing and shooting. It required knowledge of optics, chemistry, and skilled labor to produce the final print. Each print was a crafted object, bearing witness to the labor involved in its creation. It is a commodity, an image of a place made available for consumption, tied to wider issues of labor, politics, and capitalism. Consider the viewpoint itself, carefully chosen to capture the bustling waterway and the architecture lining it, signaling the rise of commerce and trade. What might seem like a straightforward depiction of a place is, in fact, a carefully constructed representation made possible by industrial materials and processes. So, when we look at this photograph, we're not just seeing a view of Amsterdam. We are seeing a moment frozen in time through the lens of industrial progress.