Franz Otto Rößler, Plön, Germany, 1896

Mark Zanzig

UNDATED – A CdV photo shows Franz Otto Rößler in Plön, Germany. Photo: F. Henning

The story behind the image

First of all – I don’t know Franz Otto Rößler, the gentleman on this photo. There is no trace whatsoever that connects him or his family to my family.

So why the photo then? Well, because it is part of an awesome photo collection that I acquired recently. It consists of 30+ images showing the Rößler family from Saxonia and Northern Germany, with the pictures of Mr. Rößler and his wife being the oldest in the set. Even better: someone in the family has written extensive notes on the back of the photos. These add and preserve context. They must have been applied by a grandchild of Mr. Rößler as there are several references to “grandpa Rößler”.

I’ve tried to validate the names, dates, locations, and relations, and the notes appear to be quite accurate. Of course, there are some minor deviations here and there where the memory of the original author might have failed (or the stories that were told were simply – stories.)

Here’s what I could find out about them.

Franz Otto Rößler was apparently born on 28th August 1856 in Gröbitz near Weissenfels in Germany where he was baptized on 28th September 1856. He married Marie Elisabeth Dorothea Minna Leue, probably between 1876 and 1891 (most likely in 1889 or 1890.) In any event, the couple moved to Lütjenburg in Northern Germany where they had three childs: 1) Otto Georg (born 18th January 1891), 2) Martha Minna (born 7th May 1892), and 3) Max Paul (born 30th July 1893).

Then the family moved to Plön where Franz worked as the local police officer. But they just stayed for about three years (1893-1896) and finally settled in Heiligenhafen where they had four additional children: 4) Julius Karl (born 19th October 1896), 5) Wally Louise (born 21nd February 1898), 6) Alfred Emil (born 20th July 1901), and finally 7) Marie Antonie (born 6th November 1901).

The image shows the colour calibrated and unedited scan of the original CdV and presents Mr. Rößler during his time as police officer in Plön. The note on the back says “c. 1896”, and I think this is a reasonable estimate.

* * *

Photographer Friedrich Henning was a native of Plön (1835-1921), and one of the established photographers in the region. At the age of 31, he married Juliane Dorothea Ernestine Bendt (1846-1919). Ten years later, their son Friedrich Henning (1877-1942) was born who also became a photographer and took over the business. It’s not clear who actually shot the image. As Friedrich junior was just 19 in 1896, it is likely that Friedrich senior created the image. But it did happen in their studio in Plön. By the way, I found an interesting image on Flickr showing the entrance to the studio in 2018.

The high resolution image

Capture Datec. 1896
PhotographerF. Henning, Plön
LocationEutin, Germany
Image SourceAlbumen print from a glass negative, mounted, CdV format (c. 5.8 x 8.5 cm), photographer stamp on verso
Digital Image SourceEPSON Perfection 4870 Photo
Digital Image Source FormatTIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image FormatJPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image Dimensions6360 x 9970 Pixels
CopyrightPublic Domain/Photo: F. Henning