Zes kinderen spelen haasje over 1855 - 1875

Curator: This stereo photograph, likely taken between 1855 and 1875 by an unknown artist, is titled “Zes kinderen spelen haasje over," which translates to "Six children playing leapfrog.” What’s your initial feeling looking at it? Editor: My first thought? It feels incredibly nostalgic. Like peering into a faded memory. There's this softness to it, a stillness even though it depicts a game. Almost sepia-toned. The kids look to be made out of paper. Curator: Yes, the aging process really enhances that effect. It does capture a certain timeless quality. As a stereo photograph, it would have originally been viewed through a special viewer to create a 3D effect, a Victorian form of entertainment. Editor: The dual images – do they suggest a kind of doubling of childhood experience? Or perhaps the ephemeral nature of memory itself. Leapfrog itself carries symbolism – one generation literally stepping over another, or youthful vitality briefly conquering gravity. Curator: Precisely! The act of leapfrog becomes almost allegorical here. There is also something to the uniform the children wear - which strikes me as odd for leisure clothing. I wonder about social class here, and the implicit privilege in capturing such a scene. Editor: It certainly prompts one to imagine a particular domestic sphere. One almost expects a governess hovering nearby. But there’s a vulnerability, too. They’re forever captured in this one moment, this innocent act. It speaks of fleeting childhood. Curator: And maybe even a bygone era where simple games in a garden were a primary form of amusement. I find that kind of… sobering. Editor: Perhaps we assign too much pathos now? To their eyes this might just be another boring photograph. Though as viewers we look for some essence to the time, that continuity of shared experience through time. Curator: That's fair. In a funny way, the slightly out-of-focus quality emphasizes that shared history. Well, looking at this piece has certainly reminded me of all my failings as a young child playing this particular game, not that anyone is counting, or is keeping score. Editor: Well, and maybe that is what makes this scene worth seeing - perhaps the viewer then fills it with personal significance, making it ever more valuable.