Internationale Tuinbouwtentoonstelling in Keulen in 1875 1875

This is a stereo card made in 1875 by Anselm Schmitz, depicting the International Horticultural Exhibition in Cologne. Photography in the 19th century was a labor-intensive and chemical-dependent process. First, a glass plate would be coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. After exposure in the camera, the photographer would then develop the plate. This card is a stereo view, which means it's actually two nearly identical photographs mounted side-by-side. When viewed through a special device called a stereoscope, the two images merge to create an illusion of three-dimensionality. Stereo cards like this were a popular form of entertainment and visual tourism. What strikes me is that the industrial processes of photography have been used to document a horticultural exhibition, where the cultivation of plants relies on very different processes. The photograph is a product of its time, of industrialization and a growing fascination with capturing and consuming images of the world.