Stella 1860s

This photograph, titled Stella, was made by Pierre-Louis Pierson sometime in the mid-nineteenth century, using a process known as albumen print. This involved coating paper with egg white and then light-sensitive silver salts, creating a warm, sepia-toned image. The real subject here is labor. The sitter's elaborately starched lace headdress speaks of the immense labour required to produce and maintain it. This isn't simply an aesthetic choice; it reflects a complex web of social significance. Lace making, often a cottage industry, relied on the painstaking work of women. This photograph captures a moment in time, preserving not just an image, but also the story of craft, labor, and the social fabric of 19th-century Europe. Photographs like this challenge the traditional distinction between fine art and craft, demanding that we consider the cultural and economic context in which they were produced.