Mannen en vrouwen op straat c. 1900 - 1910

This photograph, *Mannen en vrouwen op straat*, by G. Hidderley is a gelatin silver print, a popular process at the time. Photography at the turn of the century was as much about chemistry and industrial production as it was about the artistry of composition. The gelatin silver process involved coating paper with light-sensitive silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin. This process allowed for sharper images with a wider range of tones than earlier photographic methods. The photograph’s surface, with its subtle tonal gradations, gives us a glimpse into a specific moment in time. Yet, the very act of capturing this image relied on an industrialized system of production and consumption: from the mining of silver for the light-sensitive emulsion to the factories that produced cameras and photographic paper. In this way, the image invites us to consider how even seemingly straightforward snapshots are deeply intertwined with the social and economic forces of their time.