UNDATED – Portrait of Berta Schneider, taken by Georg Billström in Kiel, Germany. © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Georg Billström
The story behind the image
A while ago I shared a photo by Georg Billström, one of the early portrait photographers in Kiel, Germany.
Here’s another Carte de Visite – the common photography format of the time – shot by Mr. Billström. It shows a young lady in his studio in Holstenstraße 22 in Kiel. The studio location suggests a production date between 1890 and 1897, because this was the address of his studio from 1890 to 1897. After that period he moved a bit further down the street to Vorstadt 9 which later became Holstenstraße 43 (without actually moving.)
On the back of the CdV there is a short handwritten comment. It was barely visible, and I almost did not notice it. I could deciper it as:
Berta geb. Schneider
I did a bit of research and quickly found a Bertha Schneider who lived in Ellerbek near Kiel. She emigrated to the United States in September 1885 at the age of 22. So, sadly, it is very unlikely that this is the Berta portrayed above, as the photo clearly was created after 1890 in Kiel in Germany.
A hotter trace was the baptism-record of Bertha Elisabeth Margaretha Schneider, born on the 4th March 1878 in Klausdorf near Kiel as the daughter of the baker Wilhelm Friedrich Schneider and his wife Dorothea Magdalena Blunck. The image would show Bertha at the age of 17 or 18 years which would be a good fit IMO.
So – even if I don’t know her, I like her portrait.
P.S.: I find the crop a bit weird, that leaves a lot of room at the top of the image and chops off everything below the waist, but this seems to be a contemporary style. I left it in place “as is” to preserve the original style.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1895 |
| Photographer | Georg Billström, Kiel |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 5.6 x 8.9 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 | 5322 x 8408 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Georg Billström |
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