Tafereel met een rozenmaagd 1868 - 1890

Adolphe Block made this stereo card, titled "Tafereel met een rozenmaagd," using photography and printing. It’s a double image mounted on card stock, made to be viewed through a stereoscope, which creates a 3D effect. This particular scene depicts a "rose maiden" ceremony, likely a staged tableau for the camera. The details—costumes, props, and the painted backdrop—speak to the commercialization of sentimentality during the 19th century. Stereocards like this were mass-produced, a form of entertainment consumed widely by the middle class. Consider the labor involved: from the photographer to the printers, and the people who assembled these cards, all contributing to a booming industry. The photograph, once a novelty, became a commodity, reflecting the changing landscape of art and entertainment in an age of mass production. By understanding its making, we recognize this stereocard not just as an image, but as a product of its time.