Franziska Möllinger

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View of Bern , lithograph after a daguerreotype by Franziska Möllinger, 1844

Louise Franziska Möllinger (born March 15, 1817 in Speyer ; † February 26, 1880 in Fluntern , today City of Zurich ) was a Swiss daguerreotypist from the Rhineland-Palatinate . She is considered to be the first woman to work as a photographer in Switzerland .

Life

Franziska Möllinger's biography can only be presented in broad outline, as the information available on her life in Solothurn and later in Fluntern is sparse. She was born in Speyer as the daughter of watchmaker David Möllinger (1748–1834) and Rosina, née Ficht (1785–1839) . Hans Rudolf Stampfli , who also dedicates a chapter in his biography of Otto Möllinger to his sister, suspects that Franziska Möllinger had a musical education because she worked as a piano teacher in Solothurn. She came to Switzerland in 1836 with her brother Otto when he took up a position as a mathematics professor at the Solothurn Cantonal School . In Solothurn, she first lived in an old town house on Gurzelngasse with her brother and widowed mother. After her mother's death and before Otto Möllinger's marriage in 1845, she moved to accommodation in the Solothurn suburb, and later moved back to the old town as a subtenant of a sculptor. Between 1843 and 1845 she developed an intensive activity as a daguerreotype, which is documented by newspaper advertisements and the publication of a lithographic portfolio based on her daguerreotypes. However, she seems to have given up on this afterwards. It is not known where she acquired her knowledge; Since Otto Möllinger published several works on photographic technology and daguerreotype, Stampfli assumes that he "undoubtedly ... introduced his sister to the field and possibly accompanied him". Franziska Möllinger daguerreotyped not only in Switzerland, but also in her hometown Speyer, which she visited again and again and where she also advertised.

After Otto Möllinger was forced to take early retirement in 1869 due to the controversy surrounding his publication “The God Idea of ​​the New Age”, Franziska moved in 1872 with her brother's family to Fluntern near Zurich . There she died in 1880 of "lung shrinkage"; Stampfli refers to photo historians who see it as the long-term consequence of an occupational disease caused by mercury vapors .

plant

Front page

Möllinger was the first woman in Switzerland to work as a photographer or daguerreotypist. In 1844 and 1845, Franziska Möllinger self- published a portfolio with a total of 16 realistic cityscapes and landscape views of Switzerland, which were lithographed from her daguerreotypes . The work was planned for further deliveries, but sold poorly and was not continued. It is considered to be the first example of the use of photographs as print templates in Switzerland. A view of Thun Castle from 1844 is the only original daguerreotype that has survived.

literature

  • Michael Gautier: Franziska Möllinger. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Hans R. Stampfli: Otto Möllinger, 1814–1886. Teachers and scientists . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 65 . Historical Association of the Canton of Solothurn, Solothurn 1992, p. 5–105 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-325117 (in it on Franziska Möllinger pp. 54–58).
  • Katrin Hopstock: Franziska Möllinger. The first photographer . In: Women in Speyer. Life and work in two millennia . City of Speyer, Speyer 1990, p. 301-305 .

Web links

Commons : Franziska Möllinger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life data according to Michael Gautier: Franziska Möllinger. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 24, 2008 , accessed on June 7, 2019. , fotoCH and Möllinger, Louise Franziska. In: Sikart . Stampfli, pp. 56–57, names 14 March 1817 to 27 February 1880 as the dates of his life
  2. ↑ a b c Hans R. Stampfli: Otto Möllinger, 1814–1886 . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 65 , 1992, pp. 56 .
  3. ↑ a b c Hans R. Stampfli: Otto Möllinger, 1814–1886 . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 65 , 1992, pp. 56-57 .
  4. ^ Hans R. Stampfli: Otto Möllinger, 1814–1886 . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 65 , 1992, pp. 57-58 .
  5. ↑ a b Michael Gautier: Möllinger, Franziska. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  6. ^ Markus Schürpf: Möllinger, Franziska . In: fotoCH . February 9, 2015. Accessed March 1, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Möllinger, Franziska
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Möllinger, Louise Franziska (full name); Möllinger, Franzisca
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss photographer and daguerreographer
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Speyer
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 1880
Place of death Whisper