Everyone a Photographer: The Rise of Amateur Photography in the Netherlands

By the end of the 19th century, people began to record their daily lives using small, handheld cameras, and photography became increasingly fast, dynamic and accessible. Everyone a Photographer describes the rise of amateur photography in the Netherlands: the photographers, the photographs, the albums and the key figures. At first, amateur photography was mainly a pastime for the wealthy. Quickly, however, young entrepreneurs set out to bring photography to the general public, establishing a booming photo industry. Designed by Irma Boom, this publication tells the story of the beginning of amateur photography in the Netherlands through examples drawn from Dutch museums and archives. Featuring more than 250 photos and albums, many previously unpublished, Everyone a Photographer describes a technological revolution with striking parallels to our own time. Highlights are the only surviving Dutch Kodak album, photographs by Henry Pauw van Wieldrecht, Queen Wilhelmina, Willem Witsen and George Hendrik Breitner.