The volume presents the photographic collection of the city museum of Duesseldorf and offers for the first time a wide view of a holding that gathers work from the beginnings of the medium to the present, from commissioned work and private family pictures to artistic projects. Pictures from different times and contexts are set in visual dialogue and open perspectives on the history of the city, on urban life, on social participation and on the medium itself, while the accompanying texts reflect on what such a collection is.