Portret van een jonge vrouw met muts, staand bij een stoel, aangeduid als N. Dijserinck Possibly 1863

Willem Tinker made this portrait of a young woman sometime in the mid-19th century, using the albumen print process. This technique, dominant during that period, involved coating paper with a mixture of egg white and chemicals, resulting in a distinctive sepia tone and delicate surface. The photograph’s material qualities offer insight into the period's social context. The subject's elaborate dress and the ornate chair beside her signify a degree of wealth, made newly accessible through industrial textile production. The very act of commissioning a portrait, now within reach for a broader segment of society, speaks to changing notions of status and self-representation. Though we know little about the sitter, the photograph itself reveals a great deal about shifting social structures. It prompts us to consider the connections between photography, material culture, and the evolving dynamics of class and labor in the 19th century.