UNDATED – A wedding couple poses for the photographer in a photo studio in Wiesbaden, Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: J.B. Schäfer
The story behind the image
This cabinet photo was part of a bigger lot I acquired last year. Sadly, it does not carry any reference as to the persons depicted, or the capture date. It shows presumably a wedding couple. I’d estimate the bride to be between 18 and 20 years old, while the groom looks probably 10 years older, maybe even more.
The photo has been mounted to a large cardboard of 15 x 22 cm. In fact, the cardboard is so sturdy that it can be bent only by applying significant power, and I feel it was meant to be for eternity.
The only contextual information we have is the photographer label which reads:
J.B. Schäfer, Wiesbaden, nur Nicolassstr. 22
Now, this points towards Jean Baptiste Schäfer (or German: Johann Baptist Schäfer), one of the (few) photographers in Wiesbaden. However, most – if not all – sources mention the address Rheinstr. 21 (not Nicolassstr. 22).
The Nicolasstr. used to connect the Rheinstraße, a large avenue, with the central station of Wiesbaden. It has been renamed to Bahnhofstr. at some point in time, probably to create a long street across the city that ends at the station (Bahnhof in German). This makes it difficult to understand what happened to Schäfer, and when. He does show up in the 1907/1908 issue of the address book under the Nicolasstr. 22 address.
So, it seems that Schäfer set up his first studio at the Rheinstraße in 1896 but moved to Nicolasstraße between 1900 and 1907. The mentioning of the word “nur” (“only”) indicates that there must have been some confusion around the location of the studio as former customers might still show photos showing the Rheinstraße address. (Fortunatley, the new studio was just around the corner, but still it might be confusing.)
So, I’d say that this wedding photo was taken in or around 1907 which is also in line with the artistic style and technology used.
As a wedding photographer, I think it is amazing that there’s probably just this single photo from the wedding. Today, you can easily shoot up to two thousand photos at a wedding (on a full-day booking.) Back in the old days, it was just this single shot (and possibly a couple more to be on the safe side.) The newlyweds could then pick the one they liked best which got printed for family and friends.
Unchanged, however, remains the pride and excitement of one of the most important steps in a lifetime. Just look at their faces and posture. They look happy despite not knowing what the future would bring.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1907 |
| Photographer | Joh. Bapt. Schäfer, Wiesbaden |
| Location | Wiesbaden, Germany |
| Image Source | 9.5 x 14.1 cm albuminum print mounted to cardboard |
| 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 | 8637 x 13055 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: J. B. Schäfer |
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