Stranden nord for Hornbæk. Der køres tang 1851 - 1915

This engraving, ‘Stranden nord for Hornbæk. Der køres tang’ was made by Hans Peter Hansen, a Danish artist, though the date is unknown. The scene depicts laborers collecting seaweed north of Hornbæk, using horses and carts to haul their harvest. Hansen’s print offers a glimpse into the rural economy of 19th-century Denmark. Seaweed collection was a common practice in coastal communities, providing valuable fertilizer for agricultural purposes. The print thus documents this practice, though it does so through the visual language of artistic representation. It is an image of the landscape, but also a scene of labor. As historians, we might ask: What does this image tell us about the social structure of the time? Was seaweed collection a source of income for the poor? How did the landscape shape the lives and livelihoods of the people who lived there? Examining archival sources, such as census records, agricultural reports, and local histories, can help us to explore these questions and gain a deeper understanding of the social and economic context of the artwork.