During the 19th century more than 200 travelogues by foreign visitors to the Nordiccountries were published. To understand these books one has to analyze thewritten text as well as the illustrations as the media communicates in differentways.One of various themes in the travelogues is the dichotomization of “we” and“the other”, were we (the author) are seen as superior in comparison to the other(the natives or in some cases indigenous people). In the depictions and descriptionsof clothing and nudity it is possible to analyze how these dichotomizationswere constructed, and to some extent also understand how different categorizationsconcerning the other still are active. It must be stated that it is not always aneasy formula of “the other” as inferior in comparison with the writing “we” as theclothing also have a practical dimension in the actual environment.The paper will deal with a small number of examples from different parts ofthe century. The examples will be chosen from travelogues where clothing andnudity is a theme in both text and pictures. In doing so it is possible to studydevelopment as well as the impact of media specific phenomena.