Portret van een onbekende man met bolhoed en wandelstok before 1920

Editor: Here we have a gelatin silver print by the American Electric Photo Company, dating from before 1920, called "Portret van een onbekende man met bolhoed en wandelstok". It’s a rather serious, formal portrait. The gentleman seems quite proper. What stands out to you the most in this image? Curator: Oh, my dear, proper indeed! But behind that carefully constructed image, doesn't your imagination just leap? That bowler hat, clutched walking stick... is he a banker on his way to work, or a mischievous rogue planning his next adventure? Perhaps he is simply on his way to visit his dear aunt Matilda, though one senses a much grander story brewing beneath that impeccable coat! Does he remind you of anyone, or any character from a book? Editor: Actually, now that you mention it, he has a touch of a Byronic hero about him. Perhaps a bit mysterious, definitely stylish. Do you think the photographer intended to create that air of romanticism? Curator: Ah, intent! A slippery fish to grasp, wouldn’t you agree? But the staging is deliberate. The soft focus lends a dreamlike quality, and the pose - relaxed, yet controlled - certainly hints at a carefully constructed persona. He’s offering us a version of himself, just like all of us do with our "selfies," my dear. Though he did it a century ahead. What is different though? Editor: So it's less about pure representation, and more about the story the image evokes, even with someone we don't know. And the signature, the way is just curves elegantly downwards under the man, could that belong to him or the studio photographer? Curator: The mystery only deepens! Though to me, dear friend, all that is most true to who we really are always stays with ourselves anyway, wouldn't you agree? Editor: I never thought a photo could be so interpretive. Thank you.