Koningin Wilhelmina en haar Moeder koningin Emma in een koets op het Pariser Platz te Berlijn, 1899 1899

Ottomar Anschütz captured this gelatin silver print in 1899, showing Queen Wilhelmina and her mother in Berlin. Photography, though seemingly immediate, relies heavily on materiality. The gelatin silver process, dominant then, involved coating paper with light-sensitive silver halides, a technique refined over decades. Look at the subtle tonal range, achieved through careful chemical development. This wasn't point-and-shoot; it demanded expertise. The sharpness and detail, rendered through the gelatin silver process, allowed for the capture of political figures and social events that would be reproduced and consumed by a mass audience. Photography democratized image-making, yet its reliance on specialized knowledge and industrial materials highlights the complex relationship between technology, labor, and representation. Considering the print as a material object alongside its subject matter allows us to appreciate how social power relies on skilled labor, industrial processes, and widespread dissemination of imagery.