Wilhelm Boppel
Wilhelm Boppel (born May 20, 1841 in Eichelberg near Bruchsal, † December 3, 1896 in Gmünd (today Schwäbisch Gmünd )) was a photographer and printer in Gmünd with a temporary branch in Heidenheim an der Brenz . Wilhelm Boppel left behind photo-realistic image documents, portraits of the population from the second half of the 19th century, especially from the time of the young German Empire, almost exclusively for the Schwäbisch Gmünd region . He was the father of the photographer Alfred Boppel and the uncle of the photographers Stefan Krill and Johannes Boppel .
Live and act
youth
Wilhelm Boppel was the son of a farmer from Eichelberg. As a young man he came to Stuttgart , where he probably did an apprenticeship as a photographer with Johann Bleibel . Since August 7, 1865, he was registered with his permanent residence in Gmünd, where he looked after the Bleibel branch in Gmünd, which was located in the house of the merchant Pittl in Freudental 8.
When Bleibel gave up his Gmünd branch in September 1866, he was able to take over the studio together with the porcelain painter Gottlieb Mahn. It was his job to satisfy every customer through artistic retouching of the portraits. Obviously in the conviction that Bleibel's reputation attracts enough customers to the studio, Boppel & Mahn, unlike their professional colleagues, advertised only little in the local press. Obviously, the calculation did not work out, as the tax to be paid in the first (though incomplete) financial year 1866 was only 4 fl and 18 kr .
In order to win more customers, Boppel and Mahn opened a branch in Heidenheim in 1867. The Heidenheim-based lithographer Alexander Schäffer had a glass house suitable as a studio built in his garden there at their expense, so that photos could be taken two days a week (Sunday and Monday) in any weather, which were then developed in Gmünd.
In May 1868, in Zeutern, Baden, Boppel married Maria Franz, the daughter of the Gmünd master glazier Johann Franz. In 1869, Boppel separated from Mahn and ran the two businesses alone. In December of the same year he opened a new studio in his father-in-law's house at Bocksgasse 777, opposite the barracks in the former preacher's monastery. For this purpose, the back building, which actually stood in the Sonnengässle branching off from Bocksgasse , was converted. The location was very convenient because of the close proximity to the barracks (recruits needed photos) and two churches (weddings were a popular opportunity to order photos).
success
In order to make the business more attractive and to earn something from it, he sold prints of the portraits of well-known personalities made by other photographers. In 1870 he got z. B. from Paul Sinner the exclusive right to sell his portrait of the new Rottenburg bishop Häfele in different sizes in Gmünd. In the same year he himself took a series of photos that showed French prisoners of war in the camp in Gmünd and especially the prisoners of African origin as curiosities, and sold them as postcards.
In 1875 Wilhelm Boppel gave up the studio in Heidenheim and concentrated entirely on Gmünd. The success he had with portrait photography prompted him to leave other branches of photography, such as architectural photography, which he used to do occasionally, and catalog photography entirely to his main competitor, Carl Jäger . The success forced him, on the one hand, to acquire staff, and, on the other, to make new investments. Apprentices, whom he has been training more intensively since then, were an inexpensive way of expanding staff. Most of them like Engelbert Boppel (apprentice from 1869), Franz Boppel (from 1874), Johannes Boppel , Stefan Krill (both from 1877), Emil Boppel (from 1886) were his nephews. For the boys from the Baden villages this was a welcome opportunity for advancement. Not all of them stayed photographers. In addition to one of his sons, Boppel trained at least two other photographers who were not related to him: Heinrich Eisenwein (from 1885) and Hermann Roth (from 1890). Boppel usually had only one employee, the apprentice, who mainly had to carry out auxiliary work, including developing, copying and drawing on cardboard.
After modernizing the studio in 1882, Wilhelm Boppel advertised in the Rems newspaper . He attached great importance to presenting himself not only as a photographic craftsman, but also as an artist :
“I hereby allow myself my newly built art. photographic studio to be recommended most of all. It is built according to the latest experience, has excellent lighting, and elegant furnishings, so that I am able to successfully compete with any business in a big city. Half-length busts up to life size directly from nature, such as by enlarging from templates with a guarantee of similarity. When re-ordering copies of previous recordings in visit and cabinet format, new recordings (excluding children) are free of charge. Recordings of adults in all weather conditions, but of children only in good weather. I would ask you to send me orders that are to be completed at Christmas. Sincerely, W. Boppel "
Reproduction techniques
After 1887, Boppel tried to expand his business to include mechanical printing and reproduction techniques. To do this, he procured a high-speed lithographic press from Offenbacher Maschinenfabrik worth 6,500 marks. He also procured equipment for collotype printing . It can be assumed that he employed a lithographer to prepare the artwork. He presumably also had auxiliary staff in the field of collotype. Portrait photography remained his real strength. It is therefore not surprising that a few years later, at the latest in 1896, he sold his printing facility to his brother-in-law Carl Franz.
Wilhelm Boppel had five children with his wife, including three sons. Only one of them, Alfred , was trained as a photographer by his father in the second half of the 1880s and then worked with him until his death in 1896. After a successful career, Wilhelm Boppel, who never acquired citizenship in Gmünd (and counted as a foreigner from Baden), left an estimated active fortune of 27,000 marks. Alfred Boppel then continued his father's business.
photos
Chief magistrate in Heidenheim
Young man
Young man
Bearded man
Lady portrait
Standing woman with plant table
Back of a photo
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 26
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 26 quotes the Heidenheimer "Grenzbote" from November 23, 1867
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 26 cited "Den Boten vom Remsthal" from December 5, 1869, p. 957
- ↑ a b Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 27
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 42.
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 76.
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , pp. 28 and 94.
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 41.
- ↑ "Remszeitung" of 29 November and 3 December 1882 cited in: John schoolboys: Gmünder photographers , page 27
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 27 quotes an advertisement in the Remszeitung of November 16, 1890, p. 3
- ↑ Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographen , p. 28.
literature
- Johannes Schüle: Gmünder Photographers. The early days of photography in Schwäbisch Gmünd , Einhorn-Verlag: Schwäbisch Gmünd 2002, ISBN 3-927654-94-9
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Boppel, Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 20, 1841 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Eichelberg near Bruchsal |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 3, 1896 |
| Place of death | Schwäbisch Gmünd |