Johannes Pääsuke. Inimesed ja rõivad läbi kaamerasilma

The work of Johannes Pääsuke (1892-1917) belongs to the Gold Foundation of Estonian Photography. Working with the Estonian National Museum, Pääsuke captured the everyday life of the early 20th century: people, farm life, cityscape and interiors.

The Estonian and English album contains photographs that give an idea of Estonians’ clothing in the years before the First World War. We see fishermen, farmers and millers in their day-to-day pursuits, but also a cross-section of city dwellers: market traders, chimney sweepers, corporates, doctors and athletes. The photographs of Johannes Pääsuke give a good overview of the clothing of our ancestors just over a hundred years ago – in a time of revolutionary change. Just as society as a whole contained old-fashioned features mixed with modern ones, so do we see in people’s clothing modern and traditional, everyday practical and festive.

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