C. 1935 – Else Gorber née Lichtenberger, (front) with her mother-in-law, Victoria Gorber née Joerg, (left), her brother-in-law, Jakob Gorber, and Josefine Gorber. She poses, apparently in a good mood, with a young mature bull at the Gorber farm in Hödingen, Germany. Photo: Gorber family archive, Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here’s an image from the family archive: Petra’s grandmother Else (front) poses for the photographer with a young mature bull, apparently having fun. The photo was captured in Hödingen, Germany, near Lake Constance. I could trace back the Gorbers in Hödingen back to 1730 when Dominicus Gorber was born and baptized in the village. It is safe to assume that the farm was owned and operated by the family for at least 200 years.
Else was born in Idar-Oberstein and had married Paul Gorber in August 1933. Paul was born in Hödingen and had become a butcher. As part of his training he had to tour the country to get experience from multiple butchers. After completing his education he set out to acquire the ‘master’ title and to open a butchery in Birkenfeld.
In the back of the photo we see Paul’s Mother, Victoria Gorber née Joerg (waving), his sister Josefine and his brother Jakob.
In Birkenfeld, Else had become an office clerk working for the county of Birkenfeld, and she reportedly loved to spend the summer vacation at the farm in Hödingen because it was so different to her work at home and literally a “down to Earth” experience.
I like the authenticity of the shot. More than anything else, it is a snapshot of life on the countryside in southern Germany in the 1930s.
A real gem.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | about 1935 |
| Location | Hödingen, Germany |
| Image Source | 6.5 x 9.5 cm 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 | 2569 x 3769 Pixels |
| Copyright | Photo: Gorber family archive Scan: © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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