The Hausmann photography collection. A faithful portrait of Madrid and Galician bourgeois society in the 19th century

Abstract

The Hausmann Collection is a compendium of over seven hundred photographs, postcards, and various objects belonging to Mercedes Hausmann Casal, dating from the 1850s to the 1920s in Spain. Ninety percent of the pieces come from her family lineage, while the remainder are later acquisitions by the collector. It is, therefore, a historical collection that primarily documents the genealogy of a Spanish bourgeois family from Madrid and Galicia—the Martínez-Corera and Casal families—although it also includes other particularly significant pieces, such as the 19th-century album of the González Maroto family and various photographs in different formats by European artists associated with Pictorialism. The archive is completed with historical documents and objects related to the family. This collection represents a unique testament to private photographic and documentary heritage in Spain, and its dissemination contributes to a broader understanding of the visual culture and social practices of the 19th and 20th centuries.