by Ulrich E. Bach

From the digital perspective of today, visual media reproduced in 19th century publications often appear quaint if not antiquated. To be sure, daguerreotypes and photographs could already capture cityscapes, but due to technological limitations, these reproductions were too static and timeless in order to represent contemporary life in newspapers. The busy everyday life in the contemporary metropolis was better captured in graphic illustrations, which were printed and distributed in huge quantities. For this reason, I chose Franz Kollarz’ xylograph “Auf dem Dach der Rotunde” (1873) as the book cover of Tropics of Vienna: Colonial Utopias of the Habsburg Empire. For me, the optimistic World Exhibition visitors—gazing like explorers—encapsulate not only the optimistic spirit of the time, but also give a glimpse into the general societal aspirations of the Habsburg Empire.

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