Thomas Zimmel
Thomas Zimmel works as an independent researcher in history of photography in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
Phone: +43 664 526 5565
Address: Stolberggasse 44/10
A-1050 Wien/Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 664 526 5565
Address: Stolberggasse 44/10
A-1050 Wien/Vienna
Austria
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Books by Thomas Zimmel
On 16 May 1858, the Austrian corvette CAROLINA returned safely to the port of Trieste after almost 13 months at sea. Behind her lay a training voyage to the South Atlantic, during which ship and crew performed admirably.
For the first two and a half months of her voyage, the CAROLINA ran as NOVARA's escort ship, for it was not until 20 July 1857 that she was released with the command "Free Manoeuvre" and allowed to sail her own course.
The naval command agreed and Rottmayer started with his project, probably in 1872. The navy hoped to use it for PR to improve its image in higher circles. In the opinion of the naval command “the accurate photographic recording of the fleet’s material could contribute to a popularization of the navy more than any books and writings would be able to do.” Austria was a traditional land power and compared to the army, the navy always remained the unloved stepchild of the armed forces. The original plan was to take all ships from Austria’s main naval base at Pula (Pola) in Southern Istria up to the port of Trieste for the shooting, but finally most of the photographs were taken in Pula. Most warships were brought from the piers to a favorable site within Pula Bay where they were shot with a simple background.
Rottmayer’s project became the first comprehensive stocktaking of the Austrian navy despite the fact that he did not take photographs of all ships. We can only speculate on the reasons why, but probably not all of them were available.
Papers by Thomas Zimmel
Der Pfarrsprengel der evangelischen Gemeinde Pola umfasste die vier istrianischen Bezirkshauptmannschaften Pola, Parenzo (Porec), Pisino (Pazin) und Voloska, sowie das Königreich Dalmatien mit der gesamten Inselwelt. Im Vergleich zu diesem riesigen Gebiet war die Zahl der Gemeindemitglieder gering.
Bei der Bergung von Schiff und Ladung kam der Pumpen- und Bergungstender SMS Gigant der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine unter dem Kommando von Linienschiffsleutnant Heinrich Burgstaller (*28.11.1854 in Fiume) zum Einsatz. Dem Bergungsschiff gelang es, das Wrack in der Bucht von Cigale in seichteres Wasser zu schleppen und damit die Bergung der wertvollen Ladung zu erleichtern.
Der aus Salzburg stammende Fotograf Benedikt Lergetporer (*31. Mai 1845 in Salzburg; †14. November 1910 in Veldes/Bled) hatte sich in den 1880er Jahren als Fotograf in Veldes niedergelassen. Um die Mitte der 1890er Jahre betrieb er dann auch eine Filiale in Lussinpiccolo, wo er die Bergungsarbeiten an der Goelette Contestato mit seiner Kamera dokumentieren konnte.
In Berchtesgaden übernahm er die Atelierräume in der Griesstätter Straße 60, die zuvor vom Fotografen August Leutner und seinem Atelier Fernande benutzt worden waren. Leutner war in neue Räumlichkeiten in die „Villa Fernande“ nächst der Berghofstraße (heute Ludwig-Ganghofer-Straße) übersiedelt und hatte so ungewollt Platz für einen Mitbewerber gemacht. Leutners Atelier Fernande bestand seit 1886 als Filiale seines Wiener Ateliers und er führte es ursprünglich als Sommeratelier, das nur während der Touristensaison geöffnet war. Mehrere Jahre lang standen sich Rottmayer und Leutner als Konkurrenten gegenüber, bis etwa 1898 Leutner seine Filiale in Berchtesgaden aufgab und den gesamten Bestand seiner Fotoplatten an Rottmayer abgab.
Beitrag im Berchtesgadener Heimatkalender 2025, S. 84-91
Das Bild zeigt das Baggerschiff Vulcan bei Arbeiten vor der Nußdorfer Wehr- und Schleusenanlage, die Datierung 1906 unten rechts bezieht sich wohl auf den Zeitpunkt der Entstehung des Abzugs, nicht aber auf das Aufnahmedatum. Denn der Donaubagger Vulcan wurde von der DDSG bereits 1899 kassiert. Die Aufnahme ist sicher mit 1899 zu datieren, denn das Nussdorfer Wehr und das Verwaltungsgebäude wurden erst 1899 fertiggestellt, während sich der Donaubagger Vulcan in diesem Jahr zuletzt im Einsatz befand.
Marianne Strobl was an outstanding photographer of the late 19th century. She was born Maria Nentwich on 24 February 1865 in Würbenthal in Austrian Silesia and married the geodesist and amateur photographer Josef Strobl in 1891. Marianne Strobl practised the photography trade in Vienna from 1894.
The picture shows the dredger Vulcan working in front of the Nußdorf weir and lock system. The date 1906 at the bottom right probably refers to the time the photo was taken, but not to the date it was taken. This is because the Danube dredger Vulcan was already decommissioned by the DDSG in 1899. The photograph can certainly be dated 1899, as the Nussdorf weir and the administration building were not completed until 1899, while the Danube dredger Vulcan was last in operation in that year.
Edmond François Zépherin Pougin was a Belgian naval officer who began his career in the Belgian navy and joined the German Confederation fleet in 1847. After this navy was disbanded, he transferred to the Austrian naval forces in the North Adriatic, where he did not stay for long. In 1855, he took command of the passenger steamer "Constitution" of the newly founded "Société anonyme belge des bateaux à vapeur transatlantiques", which was hired by the Royal Navy in 1857/58 under the name "Princesse Charlotte" to transport troops to India. At the end of 1857, he met the Austrian corvette "Carolina" in Cape Town!
The staff and crews of the ships were not only assigned to provide logistical support for the expeditions and to protect the participants, they were also used for scientific tasks. Expedition director Alexander Conze noted: "Staff and crews earned their merits in several respects for the exploration of Samothrace".
During the first expedition in 1873, the screw corvette Zrinyi was deployed. The corvette was under the command of frigate captain Josef Lang and had been stationed in Smyrna as a station ship since the end of March 1873, when it was made available to the expedition by the naval command for a period of four to six weeks.
While the shipping lines each had their own pavilions erected, the Maritime Authority, the Kriegsmarine and the Handelsmarine used a joint pavilion, which bore the inscription "Österr. Handelsmarine und maritime Etablissements" on the outside. In the official exhibition guides, however, this pavilion was described as the "Pavilion of the Imperial and Royal Navy and Maritime Establishments". In this simple wooden building, ship models, illustrations of ships, technical equipment and
In front of the pavilion an iron launch with a steam boiler was exhibited, to the right and left of the entrance were barrels belonging to the maritime authorities. The exhibits in the pavilion ranged from a large number of ship models, diving equipment, various items of maritime equipment, to nautical charts and the profile of the seabed of the Adriatic. Private companies were also able to present their products here, such as the factory of Giuseppe Angel and the company Alex. Marina and Comp., both manufacturers of ship ropes from Trieste. Also prominently displayed was the powerful Friedmann's ship leakage pump, which was developed by the company Alex. Friedmann in Vienna.
The series of warship models was led by a model of the casemate ship Erzherzog Albrecht, followed by models of the corvette Frundsberg and other ships. Cross-section models of the Kasematt ship Custoza and the frigates Radetzky and Laudon were presented. In the middle of the pavilion, a series of models of Austrian merchant ships was also displayed, as well as models of steam dredgers and a lighthouse ship.
The naval imperial manoeuvre of 1902 was a joint exercise of the land forces and the navy. The exercise scenario was the amphibious landing of a larger group of infantry troops on the southern tip of Istria. With the inclusion of a battalion of field artillery and a small dragoon unit, a number of tasks could be practised, above all the efficient logistics of disembarking men, horses and cannons, which allowed experience to be gained for possible operations.
Bernard Jeločnik (*15 August 1879 in Ljubljana; †9 May 1934 in Ljubljana) was an artillery officer in the Austrian Navy and assigned as instructor at the artillery training ship. Before the outbreak of war in 1914, he began writing the textbook "Seemannskunde" (Seamanship), parts of whose manuscript he was able to complete by 1915. In a short article in the journal "Wiener Flagge", I describe the history of this book, which is regularly sought by historians and collectors but is not available in a single library - with only one exception ...
Sein Interesse an der Fotografie pflegte Ludwig David weiterhin und war seit 1882 Mitglied der Photographischen Gesellschaft in Wien, anlässlich deren Plenarversammlung 1882 er unter dem Titel "Erstlingsversuche eines Dilettanten“ eigene Fotografien ausstellte.
Gleichzeitig arbeitete er weiterhin an der Entwicklung neuer Kameras. In den Jahren 1884 und 1885 konstruierte er seinen „Salon- und Reiseapparat“, der von der bekannten Wiener Foto- und Kunsthandlung R. Lechner (W. Müller) auf den Markt gebracht wurde
Ludwig David was born on 5 March 1856 in Breslau, where he attended the Gymnasium and the höhere Gewerbeschule. He was already interested in photography as a schoolboy and constructed his first own camera at the age of 17. He embarked on a military career in Austria and completed cadet training at the artillery school. In 1881 he was discharged as a lieutenant in the field artillery and accepted into the army.
Ludwig David continued to cultivate his interest in photography and from 1882 was a member of the Photographic Society in Vienna, at whose plenary meeting in 1882 he exhibited his own photographs under the title "Erstlingsversuche eines Dilettanten".
At the same time, he continued to work on the development of new cameras. In 1884 and 1885, he constructed his "Salon- und Reiseapparat" (Salon and Travel Camera), which was marketed by the well-known Viennese photo and art dealer R. Lechner (W. Müller).
A total of 14 photographs of the "Fortress of Venice" have been identified, including the well-known photograph of the assembled lagoon flotilla, taken at the Bacino San Marco.
The other photographs show the "Fort Haynau", "Fort San Felice", "Fort San Stefano", "Fort San Pietro in Volta", "Fort San Pietro", the "Harbour Battery Alberoni" (2), the "Beach Battery Leonardo", the "Fort Quatro Fontane", the "Fort Lido", the Fort Malamocco, the "Fort Treporti" and the "Fort San Andrea with the Harbour Guard Ship".
Kriegsmarine. Zwischen 1873 und 1877 entstanden im Auftrag der Südbahn-Gesellschaft Aufnahmen von der Baustelle des Eisenbahnhafens und des neuen Bahnhofs von Triest. Diese Aufnahmen stellte Rottmayer auf der Weltausstellung 1878 in Paris aus.
Der Ausbau des Hafens von Triest erfolgte auf Kosten des Staates und wurde von der Südbahn-Gesellschaft für den Pauschalbetrag von 14,6 Millionen Gulden ausgeführt. Die gesamte Planung und die Bauaufsicht lag in den Händen von k.k. Südbahn Inspektor Friedrich Bömches (1829-1898), dessen Name später untrennbar mit dem Hafenausbau verbunden blieb.
On 16 May 1858, the Austrian corvette CAROLINA returned safely to the port of Trieste after almost 13 months at sea. Behind her lay a training voyage to the South Atlantic, during which ship and crew performed admirably.
For the first two and a half months of her voyage, the CAROLINA ran as NOVARA's escort ship, for it was not until 20 July 1857 that she was released with the command "Free Manoeuvre" and allowed to sail her own course.
The naval command agreed and Rottmayer started with his project, probably in 1872. The navy hoped to use it for PR to improve its image in higher circles. In the opinion of the naval command “the accurate photographic recording of the fleet’s material could contribute to a popularization of the navy more than any books and writings would be able to do.” Austria was a traditional land power and compared to the army, the navy always remained the unloved stepchild of the armed forces. The original plan was to take all ships from Austria’s main naval base at Pula (Pola) in Southern Istria up to the port of Trieste for the shooting, but finally most of the photographs were taken in Pula. Most warships were brought from the piers to a favorable site within Pula Bay where they were shot with a simple background.
Rottmayer’s project became the first comprehensive stocktaking of the Austrian navy despite the fact that he did not take photographs of all ships. We can only speculate on the reasons why, but probably not all of them were available.
Der Pfarrsprengel der evangelischen Gemeinde Pola umfasste die vier istrianischen Bezirkshauptmannschaften Pola, Parenzo (Porec), Pisino (Pazin) und Voloska, sowie das Königreich Dalmatien mit der gesamten Inselwelt. Im Vergleich zu diesem riesigen Gebiet war die Zahl der Gemeindemitglieder gering.
Bei der Bergung von Schiff und Ladung kam der Pumpen- und Bergungstender SMS Gigant der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine unter dem Kommando von Linienschiffsleutnant Heinrich Burgstaller (*28.11.1854 in Fiume) zum Einsatz. Dem Bergungsschiff gelang es, das Wrack in der Bucht von Cigale in seichteres Wasser zu schleppen und damit die Bergung der wertvollen Ladung zu erleichtern.
Der aus Salzburg stammende Fotograf Benedikt Lergetporer (*31. Mai 1845 in Salzburg; †14. November 1910 in Veldes/Bled) hatte sich in den 1880er Jahren als Fotograf in Veldes niedergelassen. Um die Mitte der 1890er Jahre betrieb er dann auch eine Filiale in Lussinpiccolo, wo er die Bergungsarbeiten an der Goelette Contestato mit seiner Kamera dokumentieren konnte.
In Berchtesgaden übernahm er die Atelierräume in der Griesstätter Straße 60, die zuvor vom Fotografen August Leutner und seinem Atelier Fernande benutzt worden waren. Leutner war in neue Räumlichkeiten in die „Villa Fernande“ nächst der Berghofstraße (heute Ludwig-Ganghofer-Straße) übersiedelt und hatte so ungewollt Platz für einen Mitbewerber gemacht. Leutners Atelier Fernande bestand seit 1886 als Filiale seines Wiener Ateliers und er führte es ursprünglich als Sommeratelier, das nur während der Touristensaison geöffnet war. Mehrere Jahre lang standen sich Rottmayer und Leutner als Konkurrenten gegenüber, bis etwa 1898 Leutner seine Filiale in Berchtesgaden aufgab und den gesamten Bestand seiner Fotoplatten an Rottmayer abgab.
Beitrag im Berchtesgadener Heimatkalender 2025, S. 84-91
Das Bild zeigt das Baggerschiff Vulcan bei Arbeiten vor der Nußdorfer Wehr- und Schleusenanlage, die Datierung 1906 unten rechts bezieht sich wohl auf den Zeitpunkt der Entstehung des Abzugs, nicht aber auf das Aufnahmedatum. Denn der Donaubagger Vulcan wurde von der DDSG bereits 1899 kassiert. Die Aufnahme ist sicher mit 1899 zu datieren, denn das Nussdorfer Wehr und das Verwaltungsgebäude wurden erst 1899 fertiggestellt, während sich der Donaubagger Vulcan in diesem Jahr zuletzt im Einsatz befand.
Marianne Strobl was an outstanding photographer of the late 19th century. She was born Maria Nentwich on 24 February 1865 in Würbenthal in Austrian Silesia and married the geodesist and amateur photographer Josef Strobl in 1891. Marianne Strobl practised the photography trade in Vienna from 1894.
The picture shows the dredger Vulcan working in front of the Nußdorf weir and lock system. The date 1906 at the bottom right probably refers to the time the photo was taken, but not to the date it was taken. This is because the Danube dredger Vulcan was already decommissioned by the DDSG in 1899. The photograph can certainly be dated 1899, as the Nussdorf weir and the administration building were not completed until 1899, while the Danube dredger Vulcan was last in operation in that year.
Edmond François Zépherin Pougin was a Belgian naval officer who began his career in the Belgian navy and joined the German Confederation fleet in 1847. After this navy was disbanded, he transferred to the Austrian naval forces in the North Adriatic, where he did not stay for long. In 1855, he took command of the passenger steamer "Constitution" of the newly founded "Société anonyme belge des bateaux à vapeur transatlantiques", which was hired by the Royal Navy in 1857/58 under the name "Princesse Charlotte" to transport troops to India. At the end of 1857, he met the Austrian corvette "Carolina" in Cape Town!
The staff and crews of the ships were not only assigned to provide logistical support for the expeditions and to protect the participants, they were also used for scientific tasks. Expedition director Alexander Conze noted: "Staff and crews earned their merits in several respects for the exploration of Samothrace".
During the first expedition in 1873, the screw corvette Zrinyi was deployed. The corvette was under the command of frigate captain Josef Lang and had been stationed in Smyrna as a station ship since the end of March 1873, when it was made available to the expedition by the naval command for a period of four to six weeks.
While the shipping lines each had their own pavilions erected, the Maritime Authority, the Kriegsmarine and the Handelsmarine used a joint pavilion, which bore the inscription "Österr. Handelsmarine und maritime Etablissements" on the outside. In the official exhibition guides, however, this pavilion was described as the "Pavilion of the Imperial and Royal Navy and Maritime Establishments". In this simple wooden building, ship models, illustrations of ships, technical equipment and
In front of the pavilion an iron launch with a steam boiler was exhibited, to the right and left of the entrance were barrels belonging to the maritime authorities. The exhibits in the pavilion ranged from a large number of ship models, diving equipment, various items of maritime equipment, to nautical charts and the profile of the seabed of the Adriatic. Private companies were also able to present their products here, such as the factory of Giuseppe Angel and the company Alex. Marina and Comp., both manufacturers of ship ropes from Trieste. Also prominently displayed was the powerful Friedmann's ship leakage pump, which was developed by the company Alex. Friedmann in Vienna.
The series of warship models was led by a model of the casemate ship Erzherzog Albrecht, followed by models of the corvette Frundsberg and other ships. Cross-section models of the Kasematt ship Custoza and the frigates Radetzky and Laudon were presented. In the middle of the pavilion, a series of models of Austrian merchant ships was also displayed, as well as models of steam dredgers and a lighthouse ship.
The naval imperial manoeuvre of 1902 was a joint exercise of the land forces and the navy. The exercise scenario was the amphibious landing of a larger group of infantry troops on the southern tip of Istria. With the inclusion of a battalion of field artillery and a small dragoon unit, a number of tasks could be practised, above all the efficient logistics of disembarking men, horses and cannons, which allowed experience to be gained for possible operations.
Bernard Jeločnik (*15 August 1879 in Ljubljana; †9 May 1934 in Ljubljana) was an artillery officer in the Austrian Navy and assigned as instructor at the artillery training ship. Before the outbreak of war in 1914, he began writing the textbook "Seemannskunde" (Seamanship), parts of whose manuscript he was able to complete by 1915. In a short article in the journal "Wiener Flagge", I describe the history of this book, which is regularly sought by historians and collectors but is not available in a single library - with only one exception ...
Sein Interesse an der Fotografie pflegte Ludwig David weiterhin und war seit 1882 Mitglied der Photographischen Gesellschaft in Wien, anlässlich deren Plenarversammlung 1882 er unter dem Titel "Erstlingsversuche eines Dilettanten“ eigene Fotografien ausstellte.
Gleichzeitig arbeitete er weiterhin an der Entwicklung neuer Kameras. In den Jahren 1884 und 1885 konstruierte er seinen „Salon- und Reiseapparat“, der von der bekannten Wiener Foto- und Kunsthandlung R. Lechner (W. Müller) auf den Markt gebracht wurde
Ludwig David was born on 5 March 1856 in Breslau, where he attended the Gymnasium and the höhere Gewerbeschule. He was already interested in photography as a schoolboy and constructed his first own camera at the age of 17. He embarked on a military career in Austria and completed cadet training at the artillery school. In 1881 he was discharged as a lieutenant in the field artillery and accepted into the army.
Ludwig David continued to cultivate his interest in photography and from 1882 was a member of the Photographic Society in Vienna, at whose plenary meeting in 1882 he exhibited his own photographs under the title "Erstlingsversuche eines Dilettanten".
At the same time, he continued to work on the development of new cameras. In 1884 and 1885, he constructed his "Salon- und Reiseapparat" (Salon and Travel Camera), which was marketed by the well-known Viennese photo and art dealer R. Lechner (W. Müller).
A total of 14 photographs of the "Fortress of Venice" have been identified, including the well-known photograph of the assembled lagoon flotilla, taken at the Bacino San Marco.
The other photographs show the "Fort Haynau", "Fort San Felice", "Fort San Stefano", "Fort San Pietro in Volta", "Fort San Pietro", the "Harbour Battery Alberoni" (2), the "Beach Battery Leonardo", the "Fort Quatro Fontane", the "Fort Lido", the Fort Malamocco, the "Fort Treporti" and the "Fort San Andrea with the Harbour Guard Ship".
Kriegsmarine. Zwischen 1873 und 1877 entstanden im Auftrag der Südbahn-Gesellschaft Aufnahmen von der Baustelle des Eisenbahnhafens und des neuen Bahnhofs von Triest. Diese Aufnahmen stellte Rottmayer auf der Weltausstellung 1878 in Paris aus.
Der Ausbau des Hafens von Triest erfolgte auf Kosten des Staates und wurde von der Südbahn-Gesellschaft für den Pauschalbetrag von 14,6 Millionen Gulden ausgeführt. Die gesamte Planung und die Bauaufsicht lag in den Händen von k.k. Südbahn Inspektor Friedrich Bömches (1829-1898), dessen Name später untrennbar mit dem Hafenausbau verbunden blieb.
Alexander Hauger was usually stationed in Pola, only in 1895 and 1896 he was assigned to the Naval Control Office in Vienna, from 1897 to 1899 he lived in Trieste, where he served with the Naval District Command. Although he retired on 1 February 1914, he was reactivated in the course of mobilisation in 1915 and only finally retired from service after the end of the war on 31 December 1918.
In addition to his professional duties as a naval officer, Alexander Hauger was an enthusiastic amateur photographer who had been a member of the Camera-Klub in Vienna since 1888. In addition, Alexander Hauger was a corresponding member of numerous other photographic societies and a correspondent of the Central Commission for Art and Historical Monuments. He was the author of numerous scientific papers in professional journals.
Since the late 1880s, his camera must also have accompanied him on duty, for in the summer of 1890 he succeeded in taking a photograph of a torpedo boat at full speed, which was spectacular by the standards of the time, taken by an accompanying boat.