100 years Null-Serie

[beoon]

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7 hours ago, willeica said:

Bill, both of us will be in Wetzlar at the end of June. Let’s see what we can see as regards early Barnack negatives, despite the crowds that will be there at that time. 

 

 

 

 

I will be at Leitz Park (Tuesday 24th-Sunday 29th) at the June anniversary event along with David Stephens, could we not arrange another formal group meeting in the archives as per October 2023?

[Oscar F]

For the record, there are 13 images on that little strip of film. The uploaded image shows nine of them. Only nine were scanned, apparently leaving out very similar duplicates, possibly being careful because of the very tight winding of the old film. The negative strip was professionally and carefully scanned perhaps a couple of decades ago (but images only, not the entire film showing sprocket holes). I am pretty sure that my dad received the negative strip from Charlotte Barnack, widow of Conrad Barnack, probably sometime around 1982. They had become good friends. The negatives came in the yellow carton shown in the second uploaded image. On the top of the carton, in old script, is written, "Conrad-Hanna 1914 und andere alte". Hanna was born 15 July 1907 and Conrad 21 Nov 1908, both in Jena. (Conrad's name was always Conrad with a C - his birth and death records, telephone directories, signature, and so on. It is a curious fact that he always spelled his father's name Oscar, which is somewhat hard to explain, other than that Conrad was an ardent Anglophile.)

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[willeica]

3 minutes ago, beoon said:

I will be at Leitz Park (Tuesday 24th-Sunday 29th) at the June anniversary event along with David Stephens, could we not arrange another formal group meeting in the archives as per October 2023?

A smaller group this time, Alan. You are welcome to join us. I already have a rough arrangement to go the Archive.

William 

[willeica]

8 minutes ago, Oscar F said:

For the record, there are 13 images on that little strip of film. The uploaded image shows nine of them. Only nine were scanned, apparently leaving out very similar duplicates, possibly being careful because of the very tight winding of the old film. The negative strip was professionally and carefully scanned perhaps a couple of decades ago (but images only, not the entire film showing sprocket holes). I am pretty sure that my dad received the negative strip from Charlotte Barnack, widow of Conrad Barnack, probably sometime around 1982. They had become good friends. The negatives came in the yellow carton shown in the second uploaded image. On the top of the carton, in old script, is written, "Conrad-Hanna 1914 und andere alte". Hanna was born 15 July 1907 and Conrad 21 Nov 1908, both in Jena. (Conrad's name was always Conrad with a C - his birth and death records, telephone directories, signature, and so on. It is a curious fact that he always spelled his father's name Oscar, which is somewhat hard to explain, other than that Conrad was an ardent Anglophile.)

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Thanks, Oscar. Just a few questions.

1. Have you measured the frame dimensions of these images?

2. Can you recognise Conrad or anyone else in these images 

I take your point about how delicate the roll would be at this stage.

I have been in touch with Mark today - he is travelling abroad.

Bill and myself and Alan Stokes will try to see what we can when we are in Wetzlar at the end of June. It seems that they have been measuring negative frames in Wetzlar. They also now seem to have a darkroom in the Archive, which is good.

Yes, on anything I have seen, including correspondence with Jim Forsyth, Conrad always began his name with a 'C'. 

William 

[sandro]

59 minutes ago, willeica said:

A smaller group this time, Alan. You are welcome to join us. I already have a rough arrangement to go the Archive.

William 

Sorry not to be able to join you this time, october 2023 was very interesting!

Lex

[derleicaman]

37 minutes ago, Oscar F said:

For the record, there are 13 images on that little strip of film. The uploaded image shows nine of them. Only nine were scanned, apparently leaving out very similar duplicates, possibly being careful because of the very tight winding of the old film. The negative strip was professionally and carefully scanned perhaps a couple of decades ago (but images only, not the entire film showing sprocket holes). I am pretty sure that my dad received the negative strip from Charlotte Barnack, widow of Conrad Barnack, probably sometime around 1982. They had become good friends. The negatives came in the yellow carton shown in the second uploaded image. On the top of the carton, in old script, is written, "Conrad-Hanna 1914 und andere alte". Hanna was born 15 July 1907 and Conrad 21 Nov 1908, both in Jena. (Conrad's name was always Conrad with a C - his birth and death records, telephone directories, signature, and so on. It is a curious fact that he always spelled his father's name Oscar, which is somewhat hard to explain, other than that Conrad was an ardent Anglophile.)

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Hello Oscar, thanks for joining in the conversation. Still trying to wrap my head around the loss of your dad, and we are all so sorry about losing Rolf. BTW, how did your name, Oscar, came to be spelled with a C? I'm sure your dad was the one who made that choice.

Readers here may want to refer to my article in Viewfinder 55-2, where I explored the conundrum of the spelling of Oskar's name, especially the Oscar with a C on the top of the viewfinder on Null Serie # 105. You helped quite a bit with that article.

Thanks for giving the birth date of Conrad. That would make him age 5 to 9 during the War years. As noted, the container for the roll these images are from is dated 1914, so that would make him 5 years old at the start of the War, which these images are most likely from. I also recall seeing Conrad in a little Navy outfit in a photo which Oskar had taken. Military dress for kids was popular back then. I wonder if Conrad is the little Bugle Boy in these images? Looking closely at these images also reinforces that the rifles and bayonets these kids are sporting are wooden "toys". Frank Heymel confirmed there were no youth paramilitary groups back in those days. So I guess you could say they were at play, drilling like their older brothers and fathers would have before going off to war. I count 20 boys in the group photo. Again, because of the full foliage seen in the images and the woman and young girl not wearing any jackets, etc., I would say these were taken in the summer/fall months of 1914. I also recall seeing a film Barnack made of soldiers from Wetzlar going off to fight in the War.

 

[beoon]

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Bill,

These prints were issued as part of the 2004 replica "Null Series"

Alan

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[beoon]

The cine films by Oskar Barnack are available for viewing using the link below.

They range from circa 1914 - 1930 with footage of events in Wetzlar town, surrounding areas and factory production footage etc

A fascinating insight, showing events Barnack personally recorded himself.

The website states

"Since the 1910s, Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the Leica, had captured events around Wetzlar on film with his self-constructed film camera. He documented flood disasters, city festivals, medical experiments, sporting events and the company where he was employed as chief designer: the Optical Works Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar. His films form the basis of a film archive in which local history has the same place as the effects of great historical events."

The footage also has a detailed description of the event Barnack recorded with location and date

https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/oskar-barnack_64d065ee03624dff819d108858219b4f

I am not sure if an account is required for viewing, I created an account and can view them.

I only searched for "Oskar Barnack" but there possibly might be other footage under a different search criteria

Alan

 

Edited May 29 by beoon

[willeica]

2 hours ago, beoon said:

The cine films by Oskar Barnack are available for viewing using the link below.

They range from circa 1914 - 1930 with footage of events in Wetzlar town, surrounding areas and factory production footage etc

A fascinating insight, showing events Barnack personally recorded himself.

The website states

"Since the 1910s, Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the Leica, had captured events around Wetzlar on film with his self-constructed film camera. He documented flood disasters, city festivals, medical experiments, sporting events and the company where he was employed as chief designer: the Optical Works Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar. His films form the basis of a film archive in which local history has the same place as the effects of great historical events."

The footage also has a detailed description of the event Barnack recorded with location and date

https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/oskar-barnack_64d065ee03624dff819d108858219b4f

I am not sure if an account is required for viewing, I created an account and can view them.

I only searched for "Oskar Barnack" but there possibly might be other footage under a different search criteria

Alan

 

Fascinating stuff, Alan, and not just in a Leitz/Barnack context, all e.g. the Ukrainian prisoners about to return home with their own band and their traditional hats. It is nice to see Bad Ems where Barnack was photographed with the Ur-Leica using his cine-camera. If only the cine camera had taken footage of the Ur-Leica!

Life was pretty much one big parade back then. The Shooting Club Parade is like a St Patrick's Day Parade, German Style. In the footage from 1914 I have spotted a boy and a girl who could be Conrad and Hanna, but perhaps not. It is not unknown for cinematographers to place family members in the foreground of a scene. The second image below also features a boy in a sailor suit who could be Conrad some years later. He comes out of the crowd and poses. A cousin perhaps, as the young girl and boy in the first image can also be seen on the right in that image? 

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I'm just speculating, of course.

I'm delighted to see this footage. We have similar footage in the archive at  the Irish Film Institute. I once spent hours in there and nearly went blind trying to spot my maternal grandfather coming out of a church in the period around 1912-15. 

William 

 

Edited May 29 by willeica

[beoon]

Here is another photograph by Barnack from 1914.

"children of Oskar Barnack and brothers Schmidt"

This photograph is from the 1989 book "75 years of Leica Photography 1914-1989"

 

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Edited May 29 by beoon

[derleicaman]

39 minutes ago, beoon said:

Here is another photograph by Barnack from 1914.

"children of Oskar Barnack and brothers Schmidt"

This photograph is from the 1989 book "75 years of Leica Photography 1914-1989"

 

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The relative (nephew?) in the white hat looks a bit like the Bugle Boy from the negatives. It would not surprise that Barnack would have photographed his relatives on that roll from the group of kids in the pictures.

[derleicaman]

6 hours ago, willeica said:

Fascinating stuff, Alan, and not just in a Leitz/Barnack context, all e.g. the Ukrainian prisoners about to return home with their own band and their traditional hats. It is nice to see Bad Ems where Barnack was photographed with the Ur-Leica using his cine-camera. If only the cine camera had taken footage of the Ur-Leica!

Life was pretty much one big parade back then. The Shooting Club Parade is like a St Patrick's Day Parade, German Style. In the footage from 1914 I have spotted a boy and a girl who could be Conrad and Hanna, but perhaps not. It is not unknown for cinematographers to place family members in the foreground of a scene. The second image below also features a boy in a sailor suit who could be Conrad some years later. He comes out of the crowd and poses. A cousin perhaps, as the young girl and boy in the first image can also be seen on the right in that image? 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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I'm just speculating, of course.

I'm delighted to see this footage. We have similar footage in the archive at  the Irish Film Institute. I once spent hours in there and nearly went blind trying to spot my maternal grandfather coming out of a church in the period around 1912-15. 

William 

 

The girl in these pictures certainly looks like Barnack's daughter in these pictures. Could be Conrad in one of them. This looks like the Krämerstrasse that goes down to the Eisenmarkt, where Barnack took his famous picture.

FYI, I am certain that the Shooting Club shown celebrating here is the same one that was located in a building (Schützenhalle) next to the old Admin building next to the factory (Hochhaus). It was hit by a bomb in WWII and destroyed. A modern office building stands on the spot today. The street name is Schützenstrasse. The old Admin building was damaged in the same raid, on the North East corner facing the Karl-Kellner-Ring across from the old Schütznehalle.

[willeica]

53 minutes ago, derleicaman said:

The girl in these pictures certainly looks like Barnack's daughter in these pictures. Could be Conrad in one of them. This looks like the Krämerstrasse that goes down to the Eisenmarkt, where Barnack took his famous picture.

FYI, I am certain that the Shooting Club shown celebrating here is the same one that was located in a building (Schützenhalle) next to the old Admin building next to the factory (Hochhaus). It was hit by a bomb in WWII and destroyed. A modern office building stands on the spot today. The street name is Schützenstrasse. The old Admin building was damaged in the same raid, on the North East corner facing the Karl-Kellner-Ring across from the old Schütznehalle.

Thanks, Bill and Alan. Certainly sailor suits were all the go back then, along with 'alpine wear'. Mark has the roll of film and is returning from abroad this weekend. The two questions which I posed to Oscar above are the ones which should help to determine who, what, when and how. It is amazing that the no one was photographed with the UR-Leica which today might be worth €100 million, if it were ever to go for auction. Nobody could have foreseen the future impact of a little metal prototype device for 35mm film which had been produced in one of the back rooms at the Leitz factory. 

Have a look at the film about blood dialysis for a dog. It looks like Barnack's own 'hund' which featured in the little booklet about No 105.

William 

[Oscar F]

6 hours ago, derleicaman said:

The relative (nephew?) in the white hat looks a bit like the Bugle Boy from the negatives. It would not surprise that Barnack would have photographed his relatives on that roll from the group of kids in the pictures.

More likely the children of friends rather than relatives. Definitely no Schmidts on Oskar's side of the family. No known Schmidts on wife Emma's side of the family, although that is a still a purely speculative possibility (I have plunged the genealogical depths). (Emma's older sister Anna married Fritz Alexander.) The yellow carton is labled "Conrad-Hanna / 1914 / und andere alte". It's possible that the carton originally contained additional negative sections with images of Conrad & Hanna that are no longer there, and the remaining 13-image strip is the "andere alte".

[derleicaman]

I'll have to look at my old slides from my two dealer Leica Schools that I went on back in the 80's. They would wheel in a cart with a clam shell box on it one day during the week after lunch in the boardroom in the Admin Building. This is the circular building across the street from the Hochhaus. Our class room was in this building as well. after everyone had taken their seats at the table, the box was opened to a bit of fanfare. In the box was the Ur-Leica. Our instructor, Karl-Hans Welcker, took the Ur out and casually handed it around. We could play with it all we wanted. No gloves were worn, no armed guards were present as they are today when the Ur makes a rare appearance. I had this privilege twice, and I remember it clearly almost 40 years later. Ebi Kuehne was there as well to help out. If you visit Haus Friedwart, Ebi gives the tours there these days with his wife Mary Jo.

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[willeica]

22 minutes ago, derleicaman said:

I'll have to look at my old slides from my two dealer Leica Schools that I went on back in the 80's. They would wheel in a cart with a clam shell box on it one day during the week after lunch in the boardroom in the Admin Building. This is the circular building across the street from the Hochhaus. Our class room was in this building as well. after everyone had taken their seats at the table, the box was opened to a bit of fanfare. In the box was the Ur-Leica. Our instructor, Karl-Hans Welcker, took the Ur out and casually handed it around. We could play with it all we wanted. No gloves were worn, no armed guards were present as they are today when the Ur makes a rare appearance. I had this privilege twice, and I remember it clearly almost 40 years later. Ebi Kuehne was there as well to help out. If you visit Haus Friedwart, Ebi gives the tours there these days with his wife Mary Jo.

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You could dine out on that one, Bill. Not only did you handle the most expensive camera ever made, you got a certificate to say that you were (and are) a Leica Master. All that in the era of 'real cameras'. 

I was on a tour of Haus Friedwart with Ebi and Mary Jo. The tour was for the Leitz Auction team, so he spoke only in German. One of the Leitz team wanted to translate for me, but I said that I just wanted to soak in the atmosphere. 

You brought me to the office of Ernst Leitz in October 2023. Hope you don't mind me posting this photo of you standing in the office as though you it was a place you were very familiar with.

You really are 'derleicman'.

William 

[pedaes]

11 minutes ago, willeica said:

'derleicman'.

Or 'derleicaman'😉

 

[beoon]

Bill, Oscar & William,

I can now confirm the two "brothers Schmidt" with Conrad and Hannah in the 1914 photo by Oskar Barnack are the children of a Leitz workshop foreman called Herr Schmidt.

The brothers names are Wilhelm and Fritz Schmidt.

It took a bit of digging today into Leitz history, but I got there in the end, so mystery solved.

Alan

[willeica]

15 hours ago, pedaes said:

Or 'derleicaman'😉

 

Fat fingers, Keith.

William 

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[willeica]

12 hours ago, beoon said:

Bill, Oscar & William,

I can now confirm the two "brothers Schmidt" with Conrad and Hannah in the 1914 photo by Oskar Barnack are the children of a Leitz workshop foreman called Herr Schmidt.

The brothers names are Wilhelm and Fritz Schmidt.

It took a bit of digging today into Leitz history, but I got there in the end, so mystery solved.

Alan

Any takers for guessing who the two children at the parade were?

William