OCTOBER 1896 – Portrait of Magda Bielenberg (born Klünder) in a photo studio 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. Around that time he began to stamp the production date on the back, and we know that the print was created on 10th October 1896. This information is extremely valuable to genealogists and researchers like me.
On the back of the CdV there is a handwritten comment, apparently written by the lady shown on the front in drak brown ink. The note reads:
Dem lieben Freunde zur steten Erinnerung. Magda Bielenberg, geb. Klünder. Kiel, d. 28. Juni 95
So, the photo was handed out to a “loving friend” – apparently a man – as an everlasting memory. I wonder, though, why she would date the photo back by more than a year? (I double checked that it really is “95” and not another figure.) Strange.
But it’s a lot of information. We know her maiden-name (Klünder) and the assumed name of her husband (Bielenberg). Here’s what I could find out based on this information:
| First name | Magda Marie Friederike |
| Maiden name | Klünder |
| Date and place of birth | 15th March 1875 in Kiel, Germany |
| Date and place of baptization | 18th April 1875 in Kiel St. Nikolai |
| Father | Emil Friedrich Adolph Klünder |
| Occupation of father | Ship Broker |
| Mother | Elisabeth Friederike Caroline, born Brunes |
| Date and place of confirmation | 30th March 1890 in Kiel St. Nikolai |
| Date and place of 1st marriage, with Hermann Heinrich Bielenberg | 26th March 1895 in Kiel St. Nikolai |
| Date and place of 2nd marriage, with Friedrich Artur Martin Schumacher | (unknown) |
| Date and place of death | 29th July 1935, Hamburg, Germany |
So we can be certain that she was 21 years old when she went to the photographer to shoot this image.
At the time of writing, it was unclear to me whether she had kids with either husband. The death notice was filed by Käthe Bielenberg (unmarried) in Hamburg. That might be a good starting point for further research.
Hope this information is useful for researchers of the Klünder / Bielenberg / Schumacher families in Kiel and Hamburg.
Anyway, I like the portrait.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | October 1896 |
| Photographer | Georg Billström, Kiel |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | 5.5 x 8.8 cm black & white albumen print mounted on cardboard, photographer imprint, stamped date and handwritten note on verso |
| 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 | 4819 x 6669 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Georg Billström |
Zanzig.com Photo Hub 