Were such photographs not captioned, there would simply be no way of telling who is who, even for the most seasoned archivists

One might suppose that the frame is an ideological statement, yet we could just as easily take the picture for a prank. If you have ever looked through a good collection of photographs of that era, the chances are that it contained something of the kind: men larking about in women's attire, and women appearing in a pointedly masculine guise.

The picture shows a suffragist and activist from Norway at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mary Høeg. One is tempted to add that she was the author of a great many remarkable photographic works, in which she invariably appeared in vivid, characterful personas, often sporting splendid false moustaches.