UNDATED – A CdV photo shows Margaretha Anna Wilhelmine Bahr, born Rubien, in a studio in Hamburg, Germany. Photo: Ottmar Heydecker, Hamburg
The story behind the image
The other day I shared a photo of Martha Minna Rößler and this photo is from the same collection, showing her best friend, Anna Wilhelmine Rubien, in a photo studio in Hamburg.
Margaretha was born in Heiligenhafen on the 25th November 1891 and stayed in town at least until 1912, when she married a young man, Hermann Peter Bahr, who was born in Heiligenhafen in 1890. Martha and Margaretha attended the same school and were confirmed in the church on the same day (8th April 1906). Funnily enough, Hermann Peter was also confirmed on the 8th April 1906.
It’s unclear what happened to the small family. The photo is part of an awesome collection I purchased a while ago. It was shot in Hamburg at Atelier Heydecker, but it is difficult to fix a date. Looking at her prominent wedding ring, I’d assume that it was shot in 1912 or shortly after. Margarethe might have visited her friend in Hamburg or even moved to the city. There are no records whatsoever concerning their deaths.
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Photographer Ottmar Christian Heydecker was born in Augsburg or Munich, Germany, in 1861, as a son of an accountant. At some point in time he must have moved to Hamburg where he married Katharina Kunigunde Stollberger in 1890. The marriage record shows that he lived at the time close to the city center, at Hopfenmarkt 18-20, where he also operated his studio.
Hamburg was a booming city back then, and his photo business lifted off. Soon he opened additional studios at Steinstraße 147, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße 46, and Leinpfad 27. His further fate is unknown, but like so many photographers, he might have been terribly affected by the first world war. He died in 1926 at the age of 65 years in Kassel in Lower Saxonia.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | undated, c. 1912 |
| Photographer | Ottmar Christian Heydecker, Hamburg |
| Location | Hamburg, Germany |
| Image Source | Albumen print from a glass negative, mounted, CdV format (c. 6 x 9 cm) |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 5595 x 8401 Pixels |
| Copyright | Photo: Ottmar Heydecker, Hamburg Scan: © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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