Portret van een onbekende man met bril 1859 - 1873

This photograph of an unknown man with glasses was taken by Axel Rydin, who was active as a photographer in Sweden during the second half of the 19th century. It’s a carte-de-visite, a small, easily produced albumen print that gained enormous popularity at this time. These affordable portraits democratized image-making, creating a boom in the commercial photography industry. The glasses, the book, the formal wear – all suggest a man of intellect, of the professional class. But who was he? Rydin’s studio was in Sorköping, a small market town. Was the sitter a local notable? What did it mean to present oneself in this way in this place? The survival of vernacular photographs such as these can be a great resource for social historians, offering a glimpse into the lives and self-image of ordinary people from the past. By studying photographic archives, we can learn more about the emergence of photography as a means of both representation and social mobility.