Interieur van de alcoholdistilleerderij van de suikerfabriek te Klein Wanzleben before 1894

This photograph by Wilhelm Höffert captures the interior of an alcohol distillery at the Klein Wanzleben sugar factory. The image is dominated by rows of complex machinery, pipes, and tanks, symbols of industry and progress during the late 19th century. These industrial motifs evoke associations that stretch far beyond the immediate context. The ordered arrangement of machinery reminds us of the Renaissance interest in systematizing knowledge. The pipes and vessels may remind us of alchemical traditions. The alchemists sought to transform base metals into gold; here, raw materials are transformed into alcohol, a different form of transformation and refinement. Consider how the process of distillation, of extracting the essence from a substance, echoes throughout history. In ancient rituals, the extraction of incense was used for sacred purposes, and in modern science, this is translated into more secular applications. This image serves as a reminder of the non-linear progression of human ingenuity, echoing through time and reappearing in unexpected forms.