Artist Index: Potsdam

Photographer: Studio of Albrecht Meydenbauer (1834-1921). View of Pfingstberg, Potsdam. Circa 1900. Vintage gelatin silver print. 39,5 x 39,5 cm. Kgl. Pr. Messbild-Anstalt stamp, other stamps and annotated in pencil on the verso.

Messbild photos are extremely accurate in their rendition of architectural detail; when the photograph is taken, the picture plane is 100% parallel to the object and their accuracy allows architects to realize the true measurements of a building. This view shows the attractive Belvedere on the Pfingstberg in Potsdam which still stands today. It is to the north of the New Garden and belongs to the Potsdam Palaces and Gardens ensemble. The palace is located on the Pfingstberg, the highest elevation (76 m) in the western part of Potsdam, west of the Havel river. The double-tower complex, modelled on the Italian Renaissance, underwent two construction phases; the first from 1847 to 1852 and the second, after a long interruption, from 1860 to 1863. Based on sketches by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV., the architects, Ludwig Persius, Friedrich August Stüler and Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse, drew detailed plans. The garden architect Peter Joseph Lenné was responsible for planning the outdoor facilities. During WWII, the building increasingly deteriorated which continued during the GDR era. When the Wall was built in 1961, the Belvedere was closed off to the public, as it offered a view of the border fortifications in the direction of West Berlin. It was not until 1988 that restoration began with the founding of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pfingstberg, under the new name Förderverein Pfingstberg e. V. in 1990. The splendid Pfingstberg ensemble was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. – Oxidation mirroring in edges, some surface scuff marks, edges slightly curled, a few handling dents, otherwise a tonal print in very good condition.

Lit.: Rudolf Meyer (ed.). Albrecht Meydenbauer. Baukunst in historischen Fotografien. Leipzig 1985.

Photographer: Albert Weinsheimer (active in Berlin, 1929-1969). Documentation album and unmounted photos of the production and installation of four bells in the Garnisonskirche in Potsdam. 1938-39. Circa 166 + 19 vintage gelatin silver prints. Most 6 x 9 cm and 18 x 24 cm (19 unmounted). Smaller photos bound in contemporary paper album (22 x 31 cm).

The photos show the arrival and installation of the great bell and other bells in the Potsdamer Garnisonskirche which were cast in October 1938 at the Otto Schilling foundry and financed through donations. – In good to very good condition.

Potsdam. - Konvolut von 10 Titeln. Verschiedene Formate. OEinbände. Verschiedene Verlage, 1840-1920.
I. A(gnes) R(itter). Geschichte der Königlichen Residenzstadt Potsdam. Potsdam, J. Rentel, 1883. - II. Julius Haeckel. Geschichte der Stadt Potsdam. Potsdam, Gropius, 1912. - III. G. Schlewski. Vom Bassinplatz zur Glienicker Brücke. Potsdamer Heimatbuch. Potsdam, Gropius, (1920). - IV. A. Bethge. Die Hohenzollern-Anlagen Potsdam's. Berlin, Beuckert & Radetzki, 1888. - V. Bernhard Rogge. Die Hohenzollernstätten Potsdams und seiner Umgebung. Potsdam, Hayn, 1911. - VI. Julius Haeckel. Die Potsdamer Riesengarde. Potsdam, Gropius, 1913. - VII. Statut der Sparcasse für die Königliche Residenzstadt Potsdam und deren Polizeibezirk. Potsdam, o. Dr., 1840. - Drei kleine Portfolios mit Ansichten (E. Trepte. Potsdam und Umgebung. 12 montierte Orig.-Photographien. - E.Trepte. Potsdam. 12 montierte Orig.-Photographien. - Potsdam. Mit 8 montierten Reproduktionen).

Potsdam. 13 kolorierte Lithographien mit Ansichten von Gebäunden und Landschaften in um Potsdam. In der Platte bezeichnet und signiert "M. Br. 20". Ca. 18 x 13 cm. Unter Passepartouts. Potsdam 1920.
Sehr hübsche Folge von Potsdam-Ansichten, darunter "Stadtschloss u. Nicolaikirche", "Rathaus", "Sanssouci", "Heiliggeistkirche", "Die Heilandskirche im Park Sakrow", "Ziegelei am Glindower See", "Caputh", "Werder an der Havel", "Schilfufer am Jungfernsee", "Bornstädter Feld mit Pfingstberg" etc. – Wohlerhalten und sehr dekorativ.