![August Strindberg: Self-portrait, taken in Gersau in 1886.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/selfie-titel-300x225.jpg)
Switzerland’s first selfie king
A Swedish writer suffered such hard times in Switzerland that he took up photography to make ends meet – and during a stay at Lake Lucerne, he produced the first selfies.
![](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/strindberg-gersau-207x300.jpg)
![](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/zylinder-209x300.jpg)
Self-portraits from his time at Lake Lucerne. Wikimedia
![Self-portrait with his wife Siri in Gersau, 1886.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ehepaar-218x300.jpg)
![Strindberg on the balcony in Gersau.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/gersau-219x300.jpg)
Pioneer in self-timing devices
![Strindberg’s publisher was more interested in his writing than in his photographs.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/schreibtisch-234x300.jpg)