Portret van een man in klederdracht van Middelburg, Zeeland 1860 - 1890

This portrait of a man in traditional Middelburg costume was made by Andries Jager using photographic processes. In the 19th century, photography was far from an everyday occurrence, and this small printed image would have had the aura of something precious. Though technically reproducible, its creation demanded a lot of labor. Someone had to pose; chemicals had to be mixed; the image had to be fixed, toned, and mounted. The costume is itself a testament to the labor of textile production, which, like photography, was then undergoing industrialization. Yet, the very act of wearing such a garment was a conscious assertion of local tradition. The result is an intriguing convergence of machine-made image and handmade textiles. Looking at the image today, we can see how a photograph can embody an important historical moment, caught between industrialization and craft.