Römer in Frankfurt am Main, Duitsland 1860 - 1865

Curator: Here we have a fascinating stereoscopic photograph titled "Römer in Frankfurt am Main, Duitsland," created sometime between 1860 and 1865 by Hippolyte Jouvin. Editor: It feels so incredibly still, almost like a stage set. The buildings are stark, dominating the frame, but the sky is absent, replaced by this intense flatness. Curator: Indeed. Stereoscopic photography was gaining popularity then, offering a 3D effect when viewed through a special device, and this image certainly showcases the Römer, Frankfurt's city hall, prominently. What’s interesting is to consider its role as an early form of mass media influencing perceptions of German civic identity. Editor: The repetition of forms—the stepped gables, arched doorways—does feel distinctly German, conveying an almost archetypal sense of place, steeped in history. The building has weight—both physical and symbolic, and that clock face staring back, does it feel like the unstoppable nature of time? Curator: That’s a astute point! I wonder about its function, to visually reinforce municipal power and presence but as this photograph was likely intended for wider circulation, and its availability helped to craft Germany's image on the world stage. Editor: Note, that the street is not deserted and instead of people, horses dominate in what it looks like an exchange of commodities. Even those little cartwheels seem charged with centuries of toil, commerce and movement of goods throughout Europe. Curator: Exactly! These photographs allowed views of sites like the Römer and made them widely available as images. As these photographs circulated, they would also generate and shape broader societal perspectives. Editor: This single image condenses so many ideas: Progress, civic pride, timelessness all set against the transience of the human moment and also all the social changes of the XIX Century. It gives so much to ponder. Curator: It does. This glimpse of 19th-century Frankfurt underscores how photographic images worked to document, but equally constructed, views of civic life that reverberate even now.