Born into the aristocracy in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 1835, Alexine Tinne went against social expectations and traded a life of high society for one of travel, photography and adventure. You can find more about Alexine Tinne in Issue 14. Below you can read a preview of the article.
“In 1844, when Alexine was just nine years old, her father passed away, and Alexine and her mother inherited more money than they could possibly spend in their lifetime. The interest alone yielded enough to continue their pampered lives in their stately home, without having to lift a finger. But mother and daughter were not interested in a life of leisure, and preferred to spend their income on trips to Spain, France, Sweden, Norway and the North Cape. In between trips, Alexine would receive private tutoring, studying literature, history and geography. Although she and her mother were traveling extensively, in comparison to their contemporaries, their journeys were still taking them to comfortable and familiar destinations. They stayed neatly within the borders of Europe.
Until the fall of 1855 that is. Alexine was to be engaged to Adolf von Königsmarck, whom she had met a year before. She and her mother traveled to Dresden, where they were to stay for a brief period with his family before continuing on to Italy. It was to be the last meeting between Alexine and Adolf; after this visit, she never wanted to see the Prussian adjutant again. Her precise reasons are not known, but the fact that a wealthy married woman would be expected to start a family may have had something to do with it. It was considered unsuitable to go on extended travels, and that will have been a decidedly unattractive prospect for Alexine. Later Adolf traveled to Turkey in an effort to see her again, but to no avail.
“Why don’t we go somewhere more exotic,” Alexine suggested to her mother one morning in Italy. She proposed going to Egypt. An unusual request as this was before the first tours to North Africa were organized. Nevertheless, mother and daughter took a boat to Alexandria and traveled on to Cairo.”
You can read the rest of the article ‘Expeditions with Silver Dinner Plates’ in Issue 14. You can order a copy of Flow Magazine in our web shop. Take a look at the storelocator, or e-mail us at redactie-flow.nl@dpgmediamagazines.nl for more information.
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