An undated cabinet photo shows a man sitting at a desk taking notes in Hamburg, Germany. Photo: Adalbert Roth, Hamburg
The story behind the image
Here’s yet another undated cabinet photo that was part of the Rößler lot I acquired last year. It is in very good condition with just very few scratches and spots.
A handwritten comment on the back just says “Otto Stellwag?” (yes, with a question mark.) So, despite being close to the family, the previous owner of the photo was uncertain about the person on the picture. Otto Stellwag was a lower official, at least from 1911 where he worked as an office assistant to the 1930s where he worked as an official, with the last known position being Justiz-Obersekretär. He was most likely working at the court looking after the seamless management of trials.
However, the gentleman on the photo could also be Johann Hinrich Carl Voss, the husband of Otto Stellwag’s sister Paula. He used to be a merchant in Hamburg.
Of course, we can’don’t know whether the man at the desk was sitting at his desk in his office, whether it was the office at the photo studio, or whether it was an entirely staged scene in the studio (which I doubt.) I think that this man works in his own office.
So, it’s more likely that the image shows Johann H. C. Voss, as he probably had a decent office and could afford an elaborate photo session on location. But I can’t say.
In any event, this type of photography (large cabinet photo mounted to hard cardboard) was getting out of fashion in the early 1920s.
I think, this image was shot between 1919 and the early 1920s in the office of Johann Hinrich Carl Voss in Hamburg.
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The photographer
Carl Wilhelm Adalbert Roth was born on May 10, 1855, in Magdeburg in Prussia where he also met his wife, Alwine Marie Louise Beist (born in 1853 in Magdeburg). They got married here in May 1888. At that time he had already been working for a while – at least since 1885 – as a photographer in Magdeburg but probably not in his own studio. Apparently the couple moved to Hamburg shortly after their marriage.
Over time, the Atelier A. Roth had four locations in Hamburg:
- From 1889 to 1900 the studio was located at Alter Wall 26 and registered under the name of Adalbert Roth. Images from this period usually have a blank back side. The technique used and the compositions also suggest that the images shot here seem to be the oldest images by Mr. Roth in Hamburg.
- From 1901 to 1908 he operated his studio at Alsterdamm 1. Apparently, in 1900 he had won the gold medal at the Exposition du Progres in Paris, France, and began promoting this achievement on the back of the photos. His business was doing well, and he moved to this new location shortly after winning the prize. (In case you’re wondering, Alsterdamm has been renamed to Ballindamm in 1947.)
- In 1909, he finally relocated the studio to Hammerbrookstraße 28, the location mentioned on the photo above, and its final address. He kept promoting the medal from 1900 for most of the time. There are a few shots, though, that do not mention the medal any longer, probably post WW1. I guess that Roth must have realized that it is was outdated by that time. The photo above does not mention the medal.
- In 1910, the studio address at Hammerbrookstraße is listed along with his private address Beim Strohhause 32 which was not far away from the studio. For a few years, this would be a second studio, and he sold images with this address. But the address disappeared again in 1917 when he probably moved entirely into Hammerbrookstraße (which was mentioned as his home address in his death record.)
Alwine died in their home in Hammerbrookstraße in February 1919.
The studio at Hammerbrookstraße was active at least until 1927.
After a life full of images, Mr. Roth died at the age of 73 in Hamburg on the 1st of July, 1928. His images will continue to survive in the archives forever.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1919-1922 |
| Photographer | Adalbert Roth, Hamburg |
| Location | Hamburg, Germany |
| Image Source | Albumen print from a glass negative, mounted, CdV format (c. 10.3 x 14.5 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 | 9452 x 13587 Pixels |
| Copyright | Photo © Adalbert Roth Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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