Portret van twee mannen, een Nederlandse officier en een Japanse man met zwaard 1864

This photograph, titled "Portret van twee mannen, een Nederlandse officier en een Japanse man met zwaard," was produced by the London Stereoscopic Company. As a commercial studio, the Company were pioneers in mass-producing stereoscopic images. The collodion process employed here involved coating a glass plate with light-sensitive chemicals, exposing it in the camera, and then developing the image. This was a skilled process, but one geared toward repeatability. Photography in the 19th century was inextricably tied to colonialism and commerce, and the mass-produced form of these images only enhanced that. This photograph freezes a moment of intercultural encounter, but also reflects the social and economic dynamics between Europe and Japan at that time. The officer’s Western suit stands in contrast to the Japanese man's traditional attire, a visual marker of cultural difference. Ultimately, the image serves not only as a portrait but as a material object deeply embedded in the history of photography and global exchange.