Gezicht op de Botermarkt te Leiden 1850 - 1900

This albumen print of the Botermarkt in Leiden was made by Jan Goedeljee, sometime in the mid-19th century. Produced by coating paper with an emulsion of egg white and silver nitrate, this process would then be exposed to light through a negative, creating a finely detailed image. The resulting photograph is then fixed, washed, and mounted. Notice the tonal range, which is warm and subdued, characteristic of albumen prints. The process creates a sense of depth and texture, visible in the architectural details and the reflections on the canal. This technique was extremely popular during this time, and the final product acted as a portable and reproducible image that changed the way people viewed the world. The labor and time invested in producing albumen prints speaks to the value placed on capturing and preserving visual information, reflecting broader shifts in society related to industrialization, commerce, and the rise of visual culture.