UNDATED – A cabinet photo shows Martha Minna Rößler (1892-1978) in a photo studio in Kiel, Germany. Photo: Kurt Scherf
The story behind the image
A while ago I shared a photo of Martha Minna Rößler, photographed by Kurt Scherf in Kiel, Germany. I’d estimate Marthas age at 19 or 20 years, so the photo was probably taken in or around 1912.
Here is a cabinet photo that shows the same image of Martha Minna in a mirror. Apparently, the photographer manually cut out and mounted the print to a solid cardboard showing a drawing of that mirror.
While the composition looks beautiful it clearly has nothing to do with reality. That’s because the original CdV print is mostly identical. If we saw Martha in a mirror, she’d appear horizontally mirrored. However, this would change her status from ‘engaged’ (ring on the ring finger of her left hand) to ‘married’ (ring on the ring finger of her right hand). Which might also irritate the viewer.
Martha was born 1892 in Lütjenburg in Northern Germany and grew up in Heiligenhafen where she got married in July 1915.
This photo is part of an awesome photo collection that consists of 30+ images showing the Rößler family from Saxonia and Northern Germany. Extensive handwritten notes on the back of the photos add and preserve context. These notes appear to be quite accurate with just minor deviations here and there.
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Little is known about Kurt Scherf, the photographer. He was a long-time photographer and publisher and ran the Atelier Viktoria in Kiel, Holstenstraße 57, at least from 1908 to 1916. At some point in time he moved on to Holstenstraße 55 (as per the address book of 1922) and later to Willestraße 2 (where he was listed in the year 1940). Then his trace is lost.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1912 |
| Photographer | Kurt Scherf, Kiel |
| Location | Kiel, Germany |
| Image Source | Albumen print from negative, mounted, cabinet photo format (c. 10.5 x 16.5 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 | 9340 x 13504 Pixels |
| Copyright | Photo © Kurt Scherf, Kiel Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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