a black-and-white snapshot of a woman in a treeAll images courtesy of Hatje Cantz, shared with permission

June 11, 2026

BooksHistoryPhotography

Kate Mothes

Bookmark

As collector Jochen Raiß (1969-2022) scoured flea markets and antique stalls for the better part of three decades for snapshots, he began to notice a running theme. Over time, he amassed a trove of photos by anonymous photographers with an unusually high number of portraits of women posing in trees. Swiss newspaper Züricher Tagesanzeiger asked, “What are they all doing up there?” And German paper Der Spiegel posited that the arbor-climbing might be a “forgotten popular sport.” Whatever the reason, the mystery is nearly as fun as the photos.

A hardcover edition of Women in Trees from Hatje Cantz, published in German and English, follows two titles published in 2016 and 2017 that celebrate these quirky images. Find your copy on the publisher’s website.

a black-and-white snapshot of a woman in a tree

a black-and-white snapshot of two women in a tree

a spread from a book featuring two black-and-white snapshots of women in trees

a black-and-white snapshot of a woman in a tree

a black-and-white snapshot of a woman in a tree

a black-and-white snapshot of five women in a tree

a spread from a book featuring two black-and-white snapshots of women in trees

a black-and-white snapshot of a woman in a tree

the cover of the book 'Women in Trees' with a black-and-white snapshot of a woman posing in a tree

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.

Hide advertising

Save your favorite articles

Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop

Receive members-only newsletter

Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms

Join us today!

$7/month

$75/year

Explore membership options

Next article