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Primary sourcePhotograph

Portrait of Friedrich Engels

A studio photograph of Friedrich Engels in middle age, the standard image by which he became known to the socialist movement.

This is the standard lifetime photographic portrait of Engels, used widely to represent him.

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Sepia-toned studio portrait of a bearded man with swept-back hair, looking to the right of the frame. He wears a tweed-style jacket, a waistcoat with buttons, and a high-collared shirt with a small tie or cravat.
Studio portrait of Friedrich Engels.

About this source

What it is

This sepia-toned studio photograph shows Friedrich Engels as a bearded, middle-aged man, dressed in a tweed-style jacket and high-collared shirt. It is the portrait most associated with him and is held as part of his Wikidata image record.

Why it matters

Photographs like this one gave activists and readers around the world a visual sense of the man behind the writings on socialism and class struggle. Formal studio portraits of this kind were a common way for public figures of the 19th century to be recognised and remembered.

Look closer

  • What impression does Engels's clothing and pose give of how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why might this particular photograph have become the standard image used to represent him?
  • What can and can't a formal portrait like this tell us about a person's ideas or character?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Friedrich Engels on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Front cover of the 1848 German edition of the Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei, printed in green with a black decorative border. Title in black blackletter type, with 'Veröffentlicht im Februar 1848' and 'London' printed below.Book

Primary source

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels · February 1848

Title page of the 1845 German edition of Engels's book, reading 'Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England' by Friedrich Engels, published in Leipzig by Otto Wigand. Two blue library stamps appear on the page.Book

Primary source

The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844

Friedrich Engels · 1845

Book

Primary source

Principles of Communism

Friedrich Engels · October–November 1847

Green front cover of the 1880 French edition of Socialisme utopique et socialisme scientifique by Frédéric Engels, translated by Paul Lafargue. Series label Bibliothèque de la Revue Socialiste I; price 50 centimes; publisher Derveaux Libraire-Éditeur, Paris.Book

Primary source

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Friedrich Engels · 1880

Title page of the 1884 first edition of Engels' work, printed in German within an ornate decorative border on a cream background. Title reads 'Der Ursprung der Familie, des Privateigenthums und des Staats', followed by 'Im Anschluss an Lewis H. Morgan's Forschungen von Friedrich Engels'. Imprint: Hottingen-Zürich, Verlag der Schweizerischen Volksbuchhandlung, 1884.Book

Primary source

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Friedrich Engels · 1884

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