UNDATED – Studio portrait of two young women. © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Alb. Giesler
The story behind the image
As you know, I like to share antique photos from my collection. Here’s an undated cabinet photo showing two young ladies, both of utmost beauty, as they pose for a portrait in the photo studio of Albert Giesler, one of the encumbent photographers in Eutin, Germany.
The only additional context is a handwritten comment on the back: “Zur steten Erinnerung von meiner lieben Schwester. Lene” (in English: “In loving memory from my dear sister. Lene”)
So, the ladies are probably sisters, and one of them is Lene which might refer to Helene, Magdalene, Marlene, or just Lene. The lady on the left is probably 18 years old, the one on the right appears to be in her 20s. They pose in the studio in front of a cloudy background and look straight into the camera. In an unusual artistic twist, the image fades into black at the bottom which makes the portrait look gloomy. This is underlined by the serious, slightly tired looks on the faces.
I’d estimate the date to 1915, or even later, as the clothes and artistic style differ significantly from earlier periods. This would suggest that the lady on the left was born shortly before 1900, and her older sister after 1890. Of course, this is just an educated guess, and we may have to apply a range of +/- 5 years.
Whatever. Even if I don’t know who they are, I just love the portrait.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1915 |
| Image Source | 9 x 14.4 cm black & white albumen print mounted to solid 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 | 8724 x 10469 Pixels |
| Copyright | Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Alb. Giesler |
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