His real name is probably not Max van Norden. We know he was a photojournalist, working for an illustrated weekly in Amsterdam. Frustrated as he was that he could not photograph window prostitution, he started in his own amateurish way to draw what he had seen during the days and evenings he spent in the district. He always said that he could not draw, and we agree full-heartedly, but the images have a certain directness, and they depict an era that is long gone.
