Carl Friedrich Beddies

Carl Friedrich Beddies

Carl Friedrich Beddies , also CF Beddies , born as Carl Friedrich Beddig (born May 9, 1816 in Braunschweig ; † January 27, 1894 there ) was a German gunsmith and photographer .

life and work

Carl Friedrich Beddies was born out of wedlock to Johanna Dorothee Juliane Beddig (his family name was not officially changed to Beddies until much later ). In 1830 the 14-year-old began an apprenticeship with the Brunswick court gunsmith Georg Ludwig Rasch (1793–1867) and was declared a journeyman on June 15, 1834 . He then went hiking for a few years before returning to Braunschweig in 1838 to begin his military service with the ducal artillery . During this time Beddies worked as a gunsmith in the Brunswick armory . At the beginning of October 1843 he passed the master's examination and was accepted into the gunsmith's guild . On October 18, 1843 Beddies opened his gunsmith business CF Beddies on Schöppenstedter Strasse ( insurance company number 1809) . Just two years later, the business had expanded to such an extent that it had to be relocated to Kuhstrasse 24 in the Magniviertel , where gunsmith Rasch had previously had his business, who had in turn relocated it to the nearby Bohlweg shortly before . In 1853 Beddies finally moved to Kuhstrasse 10.

Gunsmith shop CF Beddies

Beddies ran his business quite successfully. So he was u. a. on 24 March 1860 a ducal patent on his invention of a firing pin - gun awarded, and the same year he was awarded a contract for the supply of 270 Zündnadelkarabinern to the ducal artillery. However, the scope of this order overwhelmed his workshop. In addition, unexpected technical problems arose with the locking of this new weapon construction. Beddies was therefore unable to fully fulfill the contract and was ultimately only able to deliver 52 carbines. In 1867, at the age of 52, Beddies sold his business after 24 years to the gunsmith Hermann Toepfer († 1874) from Magdeburg . Toepfer in turn sold the business to Louis Bruns (1843–1908) at the end of 1873 for health reasons. After he died childless, it went to his nephew Louis Knappworst (1882–1945) and has been run by the Knappworst family ever since. CF Beddies rifles and pistols are now sold for several thousand euros at auctions worldwide.

Photographic studio CF Beddies & Son

From the 1850s onwards Beddies was not only concerned with the manufacture of hunting weapons , but also with the still relatively new technology of photography . In 1857 he asked the authorities in Braunschweig to grant him a license to produce photographs ( daguerreotypes ), which happened on January 12, 1858. In 1867 he finally sold the gunsmith's business so that he could devote himself exclusively to photography. To this end, he had already opened his own atelier under the name CF Beddies & Sohn in Kuhstrasse 10 in 1865 . Beddies senior ran the business together with his eldest son, Gustav Adolf Emil, born in 1845, who had previously learned the gunsmith's trade from his father.

The business grew to become a leading portrait studio in the city. Father and son Beddies took photos a. a. Prince Albrecht of Prussia , Adolf Glaser , Constantin Uhde and Wilhelm Raabe . After Beddies senior's death in 1894, his eldest son continued the business. He finally sold it around the turn of the 20th century. It then continued to operate under the name “CF Beddies & Sohn. Inh. Emil Homann ”. It also continued to exist at 10 Kuhstrasse until, like most of the surrounding area, it was completely destroyed in the bombing raid on October 15, 1944 .

Marriages and offspring

In 1844 Beddies married Juliane Wilhelmine Henriette, b. Bortfeldt (1818–1849) from Braunschweig. With her he had two sons. He later ran a photo studio with his eldest son Gustav at Kuhstrasse 10. After his first wife died in early 1849, Beddies married Wilhelmine Dorothee Henriette, geb. Maasberg from Klein Gleidingen . He has several children with her. Hugo, the first-born son from this marriage, later also ran his own photo studio at Hagenmarkt 4.

literature

• Eugène Heer ( Swiss Arms Institute ): The new Støckel . International encyclopedia of gunsmiths, firearms manufacturers and crossbow makers from 1400–1900. Journal-Verlag Schwend GmbH, Schwäbisch Hall 1982, Volume 1, p. 75 and Volume 3, p. 1799.
• Georg Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and riflemen 1843–2018. Oeding Druck Braunschweig 2018.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. FN p. 12.
2. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. P. 7.
3. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. Pp. 7-8.
4. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. P. 9.
5. ↑ ^{a b} George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. P. 9.
6. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. Pp. 13-15.
7. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. Pp. 17-21.
8. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. Pp. 23-27.
9. ↑ Norbert Jonscher: They have been selling weapons for 175 years. In: Braunschweiger Zeitung of August 22, 2018.
10. ↑ George Knappworst: 175 years in the service of hunters and shooters 1843-2018. P. 10.
11. ↑ Braunschweig address book for the year 1865. Joh. Heinr. Meyer, Braunschweig 1865, p. 155.
12. ^ Christof Römer : Prince Regent Albrecht, Braunschweig and Prussia 1885–1906. Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum 1981, p. 49.
13. ^ Gabriele Henkel: Raabe and Braunschweig 1870–1910. Testimonies and works of the writer and draftsman from the holdings of the city of Braunschweig. Braunschweig 1998, p. 55.