Groepsportret bij een trein in Genua 1932

This small black and white photograph shows a group portrait by a train in Genoa, taken by an anonymous photographer. The image offers a glimpse into the social history of early tourism. The figures are dressed in their best travel outfits. They stand proudly in front of the train which carried them, and perhaps will carry them onwards. The photograph allows us to consider the democratizing influence of train travel in the early twentieth century. No longer the preserve of the upper classes, tourism became increasingly accessible to the middle classes. Here, they are captured making new memories, while also constructing a personal archive. Historical interpretation relies on such everyday images alongside more formal documentation. Family albums, tourist guides and railway company archives all add to our understanding of the cultural landscape. It is through these sources that we can develop a richer sense of a particular time and place.