History of Photography in Tyrol and South Tyrol Handout 1 Supplement of the Interreg project “Lichtbild/Argento vivo. Cultural Treasure Photography” AUTONOME PROVINCIA PROVINZ AUTONOMA BOZEN DI BOLZANO SÜDTIROL ALTO ADIGE PROVINZIA AUTONOMA DE BULSAN SÜDTIROL The Interreg project “Lichtbild/Argento vivo. Cultur- South Tyrolean Provincial Archives, Roland Sila and al Treasure Photography” is a collaboration between Claudia Sporer-Heis of the Tyrolean State Museums, the following partners: the Tyrolean Archive of Photo- and Bernhard Mertelseder of the Tiroler Bildungs- graphic Documentation and Art (TAP), the Municipality forum – Association for Culture and Education in Inns- of Brunico, as well as the Office for Film and Media and bruck. Another associated partner is the European Re- the Department of Museums of the Autonomous Prov- gion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino. ince of Bolzano – South Tyrol. In line with the motto “Professional handling, open ac- The Lichtbild team consists of the following members: cess. Photography goes Future,” the project defines Martin Kofler, Rosemarie Bachmann and Helene Lad- guidelines for the competently handling historical pho- stätter (TAP), Sonja Hartner and Elisa Mair (Municipality tographs in the project area of Tyrol and of South Tyrol. of Brunico), Marlene Huber, Oscar La Rosa and Notbur- These guidelines are developed in the framework of ga Siller (Office for Film and Media) as well as Gertrud various workshops; the results will be presented on a Gasser and Verena Malfertheiner (Department of Muse- website, in an app and as an e-learning program. Fur- ums). thermore, for the first time ever, the project will make The team is supported by several representatives of the historical photos available in Tyrol and South Tyrol as associated partners: Alessandro Campaner of the open data. 1. History of Photography in Tyrol and South Tyrol 2. Photography Law and Creative Commons 3. Archiving and Cataloging 4. Digitalization and Image Editing 5. Digital Long-Term Archiving www.lichtbild-argentovivo.eu [email protected] Editor: The Lichtbild/Argento vivo team Funded by the European Regional Development Fund This handout is published under the Creative Com- and Interreg V-A Italy-Austria 2014–2020 mons license CC BY 4.0 (with the exception of the photographs on pages 4 and 5, © Anton Holzer). Proofreading, design: Ex Libris Cooperative, Bolzano For the complete terms of the license, see: https:// Cover based on a design by Mugele’s Brand Identity, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. Bolzano For a simplified description of the freedoms granted by this license, see: https://creativecommons.org/ Cover picture: licenses/by/4.0/deed.en. Unknown woman from Lienz, around 1930 (Photographer: Maria Egger; collection Municipality of Lienz–Brunico–Bolzano Lienz, Bruck Castle Museum archive – TAP) 2018 Table of Contents 2–3 The Lichtbild/Argento vivo team Preface 4–5 Anton Holzer View from Outside Rural life in pictures 6–9 Meinrad Pizzinini Photographs in Tyrol Georg Egger – painter and photography pioneer from Lienz 10–13 Gunther Waibl Town and Country – Historical Photography in South Tyrol The Mariner Photo Studio in Brunico 14–17 Daniela Pera Overview of the History of Photography in Trentino 18–22 Alessandro Campaner On the History of the Camera 23–33 Claudia Sporer-Heis Who? When? Where? A guide to identifying and dating historical photographs 34–36 The Lichtbild/Argento vivo team The Evolution of Photography: Tyrol, South Tyrol, Trentino 37 Recommended Literature and Links TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 The Lichtbild/Argento vivo team Preface Historical photographs convey closeness to new professions and documents changes the reality of the past – in the context of as well as a vast range of personal experi- the present, they depict change over time ences and public events. The Lichtbild/ Argento vivo and the evolution of society at every level. For a long time, photography remained an team (from left Photos provide orientation and stability in elitist medium due to the costly production to right): Ger- private life. Their effect is manifold, and it process and limited accessibility. With the trud Gasser, Os- is always necessary to verify their source. invention of celluloid films and handier, car La Rosa, Notburga Siller, Photography itself is about 180 years old more affordable cameras, however, as well Alessandro and constantly undergoing change, not as with the boom of photo postcards, pho- Campaner, Elisa only in the context of technical develop- tography became increasingly liberalized Mair, Martin Ko- ment (cameras, material), but also in terms and developed into a mass medium fler, Verena Malfertheiner, of its social significance. Not to mention around 1900. This did not mean that pro- Marlene Huber the complex topic of long-term archiving of fessional studio and news photographers – Office for Film digital photo data, regardless of whether became obsolete, not by any means, but and Media/ they were created using a scanner or a dig i- private photography in times of peace and Bolzano, Febru- ary 6th, 2018 tal camera. war gained in importance. Technical ad- (Photographer: Konrad Photography stands for technical advance- vances continue to drive the popularity of Faltner, Office for Film and Media) ment, ingenuity and creativity. It catalyzes photography. Today, in the smartphone 2 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN TYROL AND SOUTH TYROL age of the 21st century, digital photography photographs. For pictures taken in the last has become virtually ubiquitous. 70 years or so, this can also be achieved with the help of contemporary eye-wit- Cultural treasures in the form of historical nesses, but that means time is of the es- photographs can be found in every nook sence. and cranny, for example in an old shoebox This handout compiles the results of the discovered in an attic, left behind by a workshop entitled “Geschichte der Foto- great aunt as part of her estate. The box grafie in Tirol und Südtirol | Storia della contains old photos: family celebrations fotografia in Tirolo e in Alto Adige” (History and village festivals; the great-grandpar- of Photography in Tyrol and South Tyrol), ents gazing sternly into the camera; a which took place on September 20th, 2017, black-and-white photo of soldiers; pictures at the fortress of Fortezza. In addition to of a house that has long since been demol- the authors presented in this handout, ished; discolored slides and photos of chil- Floriano Menapace talked about how pho- dren with their toys. tography as a profession has changed, In short: a cultural treasure that must be Markus Wurzer reported on South Tyrole- explored, appreciated and made accessible an amateur photographers in the Second to the public. The objective of the Interreg Italo-Abyssinian War (1935–1941), Evelyn project “Lichtbild/Agento vivo. Cultural Reso presented classical postcard motifs Treasure Photography” is to foster the skills and Valentina Cramerotti spoke about the needed for handling historical photo- photographer Enrico Pedrotti (1905–1965). graphs. This includes sharing knowledge During a presentation of photo materials, about the history and development of pho- the Tyrolean Provincial Museums, the tography in the region in which the project South Tyrolean State Archive, the Tyrolean is based. Archive for Photographic Documentation and Art (TAP) along with the Municipality of In this handout (part 1 of a five-part series), Brunico and the Office for Film and Media the history of photography in Tyrol and exhibited original works from their collec- South Tyrol is presented from many differ- tions: a daguerreotype from 1847, furnish- ent angles: Anton Holzer talks about the ings from the Waldmüller Photography Stu- role of family photo albums as portals to a dio in Bolzano, historical postcards, photo world of the past. It’s exciting to see how glass plates and photo cameras. photographs taken of a farmer’s family by guests find their way into the family photo The main objective of the Interreg project album and thereby into the collective fami- “Lichtbild/Argento vivo” is to combine sub- ly conscience. Meinrad Pizzinini, Gunther stantiated descriptions of historical con- Waibl and Daniela Pera write about the his- texts with helpful and practical informa- tory of photography in Tyrol, South Tyrol tion. This handout is a handy, concise guide and Trentino, pointing out continuities, conveying core information about the his- breaks with tradition and characteristic tory of photography in the project region. It features. Alessandro Campaner provides in- aims to be informative, convincing, easily sight into the development of photo camer- readable and up-to-date with regard to the as, while Claudia Sporer-Heis presents infor- research presented – and, we hope, a little mation on how to identify and date entertaining as well. THE LICHTBILD/ARGENTO VIVO TEAM · PREFACE 3 Anton Holzer View from Outside Rural life in pictures A photo from my family album. It depicts a to be bundled into sheaves. Subsequently, woman working in the fields. She’s stand- these sheaves will be hung up to dry. Even ing on one leg, her upper body leaning later in the year, when the work in the forward, with her other leg stretched out fields is finished, the bundles will be Grain harvest on behind her to help her keep her balance. brought to the barn, flailed and the grain a mountain She is wearing a plaid dress and apron, a filled into sacks. The farm where my aunt farm in Braies, hat on her head, her face in the shade. This lived together with her brother and his Puster Valley, around 1948 is my aunt, born in 1921; she died recently. family is situated high up on the mountain, (Photographer: She is holding a sickle in her hand, with the at 1,400 meters (4,600 ft) above sea level; a unknown; private collection) newly cut crop lying on the ground, about South Tyrolean mountain farm in the up- 4 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN TYROL AND SOUTH TYROL per Puster Valley.