Portret van een onbekend meisje c. 1870 - 1890

This is an albumen print of an unknown girl, made by Johann von Petz. The albumen print was a very popular photographic process in the 19th century. It involved coating paper with albumen - that is, egg white - and then sensitizing it with a silver salt solution. This created a surface that was receptive to the photographic image when exposed to light through a negative. The resulting print has a distinctive glossy surface and fine detail, as we can see here. The process involved a lot of labor and care. It also represents a key moment in the history of photography, when it became more accessible and commercialized. Studios like Petz’s produced countless portraits, fueling a boom in personal mementos. As a result, photography became intertwined with the rise of consumer culture, and the desire to capture and preserve images of ourselves and our loved ones.