Gezicht op een façade in Belgische stijl op de Wereldtentoonstelling van Parijs in 1878 before 1878

This photograph shows a facade in the Belgian style at the Paris World Exposition of 1878, and was created by an anonymous photographer. The image is itself a product of industrialization. It is a mass-produced item, intended to circulate widely as a souvenir of the event. Yet the photograph also captures an object, the Belgian facade, which itself embodies many older craft traditions. Consider the bricklaying, the stone carving, the joinery in the windows – all skilled trades that would have been necessary to erect the real building. The contrast between the building's handcrafted nature and the photograph's mechanical production highlights the complex relationship between industrialization and the traditional crafts. Ultimately, this photograph is a layered artifact, a testament to the world's transition into an age of mechanical reproduction, while still cherishing the handmade.