Gezicht op de oostelijke haven met een schip en een treinstation en een haven met de Kristiansten Festning in Trondheim before 1897

Wilhelm Dreesen made this print of Trondheim harbor, likely using a photomechanical process to create multiple impressions. Look closely, and you’ll see that the tonality of the image is relatively uniform. This is typical of mass-produced images, and different from the sharper contrasts and textures found in handmade prints. The very possibility of producing images like this one was itself tied to the development of industrial capitalism. It’s a different type of aesthetic than a unique work of art. Yet, we can also consider this image as its own form of craft. The work of preparing the plate, and setting the press to get a clean impression, still involved careful skill. And the choice of subject matter is also important: harbors, after all, are sites of labor, trade, and transportation. Seen this way, the image is a reminder that all objects – even those that appear to be purely aesthetic – are deeply embedded in networks of making and social life.