OCTOBER 1900 – Portrait of Magdalena Billström (34), born Pölckow, with two girls in Kiel in Germany. © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Georg Billström
The story behind the image
The other day I shared a photo by Georg Billström, one of the early photographers in Kiel, Germany. (I believe that photo shows himself.)
Now I found another photo by Billström, presumably showing his wife, Magdalena Friederika Carolina (born Pölckow), his daughter Annita (6 months old), and a girl named Marie or Lucie (which could be one of the Billström kids.) A great find.
Magdalena was born in Hamburg on the 2nd April 1866 as daughter of Carl Pölckow, a bricklayer, and his wife Elise. Originally from Demen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Carl moved to Hamburg to participate in the enormous economical growth of the city in the second half of the 19th century.
Magdalena grew up in Hamburg and married photographer Georg Axel Michael Billström in June 1886. A year later, their son Rudolph Carl Axel was born, and in the following year the couple moved to Kiel which was also a booming city back then. Sadly, their son died in Kiel in 1888. Despite this sad event, Billström opened his studio in the city center at Holstenstrasse 22 where he stayed until 1897. He became a popular, busy and creative photographer.
Georg and his wife had at least five additional children in Kiel:
- Oskar Karl Gustav – born 10th November 1889, baptized 18th May 1891 in Kiel St. Nikolai.
- Irma Helene Amanda – born 15th April 1891, baptized 18th May 1891 in Kiel St. Nikolai.
- Walter Georg Harry – born 26th July 1892, baptized 25th December 1894 in Kiel St. Nikolai. He became a Grenadier in the First World War and got wounded in September 1914. He died in 1915 at the age of 22.
- Astrid Dora Maria – born 31st January 1894, baptized 25th December 1894 in Kiel St. Nikolai. Astrid married Karl Alfred Anton Weiß, a navy officer.
- Annita Elin Theodora – born 27th March 1900, baptized 19th October 1900 at home in Kiel.
Here’s why I find the portrait above interesting. First we know exactly when it was produced. A stamp on the back says 3111900 – the 3rd November 1900. What’s more, there is a handwritten comments on the back:
Taken on 22nd October 1900. Marie 1 year 10 months, Annita 6 weeks old.
Annita Billström had been baptized three days before the photo was taken. The spelling of her first name (Annita with two n) was quite unusual, and so I am 100% certain that the baby on the arm of the woman is Annita. And the woman must be her mother, Magdalena Billström.
It still bugs me that I cannot find any traces of Marie/Lucie/Karin though.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 22-OCT-1900 |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 9.8 x 14.5 cm black & white print |
| 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 | 9385 x 13525 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Georg Billström |
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