Groep mensen rond een eettafel 1850 - 1864

This is an undated, hand-colored stereograph by Alfred Silvester, depicting a group of people around a dinner table. Stereographs like these were made through a photographic printing process, and the paper would have been carefully coated with light-sensitive emulsion. The coloring was added by hand, a labor-intensive practice that nonetheless allowed for mass production and broad distribution, in an era when color photography was not yet available. The photograph’s material qualities – the paper, the dyes, the ink – offer insight into how middle-class families presented themselves at the time. They reflect aspirations for the trappings of wealth and social standing, and the image would have provided a form of accessible entertainment for many. It is important to remember that even within what appears to be a domestic scene, labor is encoded. Both in the making of the object itself, and in the unseen work that sustains the lifestyle on display. Paying attention to materials, modes of production, and labor, allows us to move beyond traditional boundaries, and to have a more comprehensive understanding of the artwork.