Aagaard's Photos

A unique collection of collodion glass negatives featuring named persons dating from circa 1857-1870. This blog will enable you to follow the archive’s work with cleaning, scanning, registering and describing the negatives, as well as the work involved with reseaching the pictures, and the context to which they belong.

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professor of forensic medicine speaks about the -possibly- dead children

The blogger has returned from a very pleasant meeting with professor Thomsen. I brought two pictures with me to show him: The one with the three siblings, where the question at hand was whether or not the girl in the middle is deceased at the time the photograph was taken, and another of Aagaard's photographs, this time a positive, as we have not found the negative (yet).

The video is in Danish, but I will see if I can add captions at some point.

Short summary: He says that it it very likely that the girl sitting with her two siblings is dead. The girl on the positive is too small to be certain about.

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Ready for the meeting with the professor of forensic medicine

In a couple of hours we have an appointment with Jørgen Lange Thomsen, professor of forensic medicine at the University of Southern Denmark. At the meeting, he will talk about how/if it is possible to tell from at photograph whether someone is deceased. I am looking forward to it, and also very excited about what he might say, and what he might show me as an example *shiver* ;-)

I thought I would post a few pictures of children who are very much alive this morning, just for the sake of good karma.

We will be posting the video of Jørgen Lange Thomsen later today.

Below: Negative number 75, no name.

Below: Negative number 79, Marie S. Dalbye (Dalbye might be either the last name, or the place name.)

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More Aagaard!

It's all moving along!

Yesterday we paid a visit to Koldinghus Museum to look at the Thomsen collection. During the visit, we found two and a half boxes of Aagaard negatives! (About 16 cigarboxes full :-) ). We also found some more Thomsen ledgers. -And it looks like the note we found in one of the first boxes of Aagaard negatives we looked at has been written by Thomsen. (The handwriting looks very similar, and the paper is the same type as the paper in Thomsen's ledgers.)

My colleagues also found yet another pile of Aagaard negatives at our storrage facility, which we are currently re-locating. yipee!

We have also "found" some Aagaard negatives in larger sizes, and they are next in line for the scanner, so stay tuned!

Above: three boxes of Aagaard negatives. Underneath the box on the right, is another box like the one on the left. All in all about 16 cigar boxes. One of the boxes is labeled: "After Aagaards lists: 16-30"

Above: More plates from our storage facility.

Above: The note we found in one of the boxes. The handwriting and paper closely resembles that of Thomsen's ledgers.

Above: One of Aagaard's larger format negatives. We have very few of these.

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Monday pictures

In accordance with tradition, we bring you some of the newly scanned negatives from the Aagaard collection.

Later today we are going up to the castle, to look in the store rooms of Koldinghus museum. We know that the Ludvig Thomsen collection of negatives are kept there. And we have a photograph of Aagaard taken by Thomsen, so some of Aagaard's negatives might be mixed in with Thomsen's. But we shall see. We will show up armed with Thomsen's own ledger (or rather, a copy made by his son, because the original is rather frail.) At the bottom of this post a picture of the ledger is shown.

Above: Negative number 61, Ebbe Petersen G? (placename not ledgible)

Above: Negative number 63, Karoline Jensen

Above: Martha Bergholt

Don't forget that we are always grateful for any assistance in identifying and dating the people in the pictures. Find out how YOU can help here.

Above: Thomsen's ledger as copied by his son. The photographs are numbered, and it is noted which of the pictures are a part of Brandorff and Borch's photo collection, which have corresponding negatives, and of cource Thomsen's own notes on motive and date. We hope to find Aagaard's ledger, as it too, most likely, will contain further information than what is written on the negatives themselves.

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One for the weekend

All right, here's one for the weekend: -The hair won me over :-)

The lucky man of the day is shop clerk Jørgensen from Kolding (Negative number 62)

Don't forget to send in the information you find, if you go looking for him in the sources!

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clues leading in many directions

Clues in the investigation into Aagaard, his negatives, his studio and, not least, his ledgers, are found in many different places. (And sometimes in some unexpected places).

Below are some examples :-)

Above an advert in the Fredericia paper, june 4th 1859 (printed from microfim)

Aagaard is in Fredericia several times, and during his short stays, he announces that he takes photographs. According to Bjørn Ochsner's book on photographers in Denmark before 1920, he does the same in Vejle, Vordingborg, Præstø and Bogense throughout the years. I haven't had time to check the other newspapers yet, but I plan to.

During one of his stays in Fredericia, it looks like Aagaard is in a veritable advertising war with a local competitor, so it makes for a quite funny read :-)

In the add above Aagaard writes:

"For the people of the city and its surroundings it is announced, that I only until monday in this place will make portraits, also in groups and very small for medallions. My studio is in the former plaigaard (a big house), in a place which is undisturbed for the sitting. Children I can photograph in one second. I will be photographing from 7 in the morning until 7 at night. P. Aagaard"

But sometimes you don't have to look far to find clues. For instance, a very interesting clue about the mythical ledger appeared in the archive's own archive! -More precisely in a book that Inge Ladegaard has used as a log for the archive, or the historical collection, as it was known at the time. 

"october 9th 1975 The Koldinghus museum asks about Aagaard's ledgers for the photographic plates. -call monday."

Unfortunately that is all it says. Nothing further on the call to Koldinghus. But is yet another clue. Together with the note we found in one of the boxes of negatives (it is further described earlier on this blog) it points to 1) A ledger has existed. -and it has been/is in the museum or the archive. Or 2) Sometime before 1938, and again in 1975 someone at the museum and the archive has been looking for the ledger that Aagaard kept of the negatives. (They are numbered, so we are certain that he kept a ledger. We just don't know at this point in time whether it was with the negatives when they were given to the museum or the archive).

But the note in Inge Ladegaard's book also tells us another important thing: Aagaard's negatives were at the museum or the archive as early as 1975. This means they were not a part of the big photo drive of 1976. Another piece of the puzzle :-).

Last, but not least, there is the question of Aagaard's studio. We know that he starts as a photographer no later than 1857, and we know he is in Copenhagen from no later than 1885 to his death in 1899. We also know that his son Børge starts a pharmacy/drug store (I'm not sure of the translation) at the same adress as the studio in 1870. -But does that mean that Aagaard stops as a photographer in 1870? or is the studio still somewhere in the building? -Vi also have photographs taken in Aagaard's studio by another photographer, so does that mean he rents out the studio? All very interesting questions, which many sources luckily are able to help us answer.

Above as an example a map of Kolding from 1878. Other sources are the fire taxations, the wills and deeds, the newspapers and everywhere else we can think of that might tell us something about the way the house was set up inside, rebuilds, furniture etc.

Så we have lots of work to do! This is why we still need help identifying the people in Aagaard's photographs. Identifying them will, amongst other things, help us get some more precise dates on when Aagaard was active as a photographer in Kolding. See how YOU can help us!

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Guest blogger, and the head archivist in the radio!

Aagaard's photos and this blog has begun to get some attention from various places. Something we are very happy with!

We have, for instance, made contact with Jannie Uhre Ejstrud, who has written a PhD on the subject of post mortem photography. She has been a big help, and we hope to continue the collaboration. This is why she will be our first guest blogger!

But before I hand the blog over to Jannie, let's hear city archivist Lene Wul speak about Aagaard's photos and post mortem photography on P4 trekanten (Danish regional radio). It should start at the right place, but if not, the bit with Lene starts at 02:07:57

Listen to Lene Wul talk about Aagaard on the radio.

And now, over to Jannie:

Post mortem photography in a new light There are very few written sources on the use of post mortem photography in the 1800's. Even though we know, that for some studio photographers, it was a regular part of their professional lives. One of the exceptions, which gives a unique insight into the making of these pictures, is Georg Brandes' description of his daughters trip to the photographer after her death. In his memoires, "Levned" from 1908, he writes: "I drove to a photographer to, if possible, get a picture of her fixed. His camera was at Folketeatret (A theatre). Driving there as day wained and the light dimmed. Finally it was successful, before the winter daylight was completely gone, to get two plates made of her, as she lay there dressed up in her dress on the sofa" (freely translated by your regular blogger, apologies for any inaccuracies.) Astrid Brandes was 10 years old when she died of diphtheria in 1890. The photographs of the girl on the sofa in the theatre are atypical for Danish post mortem photography of the period, as she is laid out in her nice dress on a sofa, and not -as the typical Danish post mortem photography- in her coffin in funeral wear. Whereas American post mortem photography presents a plethora of creative attempts at making the deceased look alive in their last -and maybe only- photograph, the Danish equivalent was typically devoid of any such attempt. This is why the discovery of Aagaard's post mortem photographic legacy may be of great importance for the understanding of Danish post mortem photography. It leads us to think, that the tradition of posing the dead as living on their last portrait, also existed in Denmark, and a review of Aagaard's extensive collection of negatives will be able to show us to which extent. Jannie Uhre Ejstrud holds a PhD in History, and has written an dissertation on Danish post mortem photography titled "In eternal memory. post mortem photography in Denmark from 1840 to today."  Biography and publications

On thursday we have an appointment with professor of forensic medicine Jørgen Lange Thomsen at the university of southern Denmark in Odense. He has agreed to let us film him while he tells us how to tell if a person in a photograph is dead, and how the human body acts in the time right after death has occurred. We are very excited!

[aagaardsphotos]

The "dead" girl

NOTE: This photograph was originally posted in the previous post, but immediately removed, when we were made aware, that the girl in the picture might be deceased. We later posted the picture behind a link, so that people would have to make a conscious decision to view it, or not. However, the photograph has since been widely publicised in the media (in Denmark), and we are met with questions on how to find it on the blog on a daily basis, so we decided to re-publish it on the frontpage of the blog, in the context where it was originally posted.

Original post:

A lot of people have shown interest in the picture of the children, of which one of the girls may be deceased. We have had an expert look at the picture, and she has not been able to determine whether or not the girl is dead. We would very much like information on the children or the family, so we can determine whether or not she ia dead at the time the picture was taken.

If you would like to help, please go here to find out how.

Above: Negative number 50, Peder? Per Jul? (First name hard to read) Larsens børn 72 

translation: Peder? Larsen's children 72.

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Monday pictures

Let's start the week with some pictures. On some of the negatives, a number is written on the label (on the ones we have seen so far, a number in the 70's). We think this number might be a year, so please keep that in mind if you go hunting for information in the sources :-).

If you want to help identify and date the photographs (Both the ones uploaded to this blog, and the ones as of yet not uploaded anywhere), please take a look here to find out how.

Above: Negative number 38,  ?endgaard Søgaard Hoiibale 

Above: Negative number 44, Peter Petersen Vonsild (71).

Above: Negative number 49, ? Lauritsen Gelballe (Married couple, first name might be Hans or Mads).

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Would you like to help?

We are in need of some help identifying and dating the people in Aagaard's pictures. We are especially interested in pinpointing some more precise dates for when the individual pictures were taken.

In other words: We need some dedicated people who likes to go straight to the sources to find information about people (genealogy). We do need a picture/scan/copy of the original source, i.e. census, church register etc.

If enough people indicate that they would like to assist us in this way, we will find a solution that enables us to do this in an easy and fun way.

EDIT: We have made a page with all the information on how to go about helping us in this way. Please note, that all the sources are in Danish, so this page mostly applies to native speakers. However, if you possess any information you think might help us, please do contact us!

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More photos

Here are some more photographs, with the information we can read from the labels.

Jørgensen Carpenter? (some of the label is missing)

Lang? (label is almost unreadable. Perhaps the uniform can serve as a clue?)

Hans Peter Hansen Dons Mølle

Karen Pedersen Mo? (the rest of the label is unreadable)

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Today this blogger is on an "outing" to meet, and learn from, other photo geeks.... sorry, experts :-).

the occasion is a meeting of the LFF -The national foundation for the preservation of photographs and Film (translation by author) on the theme of sharing, and all that that entails.

Follow the conversation on twitter #mindthegap_lff

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More photographs for your enjoyment

It is with the greatest pleasure, that we bring you a few more examples from the collection. This time with names.

Sara Wyff Wonsil Mark

Niels Thomsen and Stine

Kerstine Fallesen

?ren Klausen Due S Stenderup

(Most likely Karen or Maren, but the first bit of the name tag is missing)

If anyone knows whom these people are, or are descendants, we would like to hear from you. We would like to be able to date some of these pictures more precisely than circa 1857-1870. It would be especially nice to get a confirmed date pre 1860.

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The verdict is in!

The final verdict is in! Conservator  Maja Forsom Sandahl from Center for Bevaring af Kulturarv, Konserveringscentret i Vejle (The centre for preservation of cultural heritage, the conservation centre at Vejle, Denmark) says: It is definately collodion negatives!

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"It's a boy!"

Here are the first photographs Gitte has scanned. When the picture of the little boy with his hat in his hand emerged on the sceen, she erupted in a joyful: "It's a boy!" -We do not hide our enthusiasm here at the archive :)

And before anyone mentions it: Yes, we know we scanned them the wrong way round, if you compare the to Aagaard's own positives. We have corrected that, and will scan them the right way round from now on :).

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Let's not forget the stars of the show just because we have been buried in detective work the last couple of days...

Today Gitte is the star of the blog (as well as the lovely glass plates, of course).

Gitte cleans and packs the plates, as well as scanning them as we go. We do this partly to get the photographs digitised for preservation purposes as fast as possible, but also because we like to see the photographs in positive for the first time in, perhaps, 150 years. We will post a selection on this blog as they are made available by scanning.

-And yes! They will be made available, and searchable at some point. It is a question of funding and platform, as it were. But until the whole collection is available, you can catch a sneak peak here.

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Detective work

Today has been so busy that there has been no time for blogging. But you shall not be cheated completely, so here follows a short note on the work so far.

Most of the day has been spent trying to figure out exactly how our incredible Aagaard collection has come to be in our possesion. -The result so far, is that it has probably come to the archive in bits and pieces. At least two of which are believed to have come via the Museum at Koldinghus. It might be, that these parts of the collection has been turned in to the museum in its infancy, since we did find a note written to I.O. Brandorff in one of the boxes (Founder of the museum at Koldinghus, died 1938). Some seems to have come via the library before the archive existed. And some again is remembered to have come via the "picture-storm" in the 1970. (The picture-storm was an effort by the Danish Broadcastiong Coorporation and local historical societies and archives to collect old photographs and negatives):

The collection has, for some parts, been labeled "Photographer unknown" and for others corectly labeld with the name Aagaard. Whether or not the collection has always been a collection, or at times has been split in smaller pieces, is as yet unknown.

Last but not least, we have ordered a bunch of newspapers from the national library. Bjørn Ochsner, author of the book "Danish Photographers before 1900", has Aagaard in different cities throughout the years, so we that has to be checked out too.

One thing we do know, is that his family goes back at least two generations in the city of Kolding. And that Aagaard buys the house at Rendebanen 8, later 12, in december of 1838, and is featured in the census at that adress in 1840, 1845, 1850, 1860 and 1880. In 1885 he is in Copenhagen, where he dies in 1899. There are some holes in the census, but that is not unusual. 

Well, back to work! More will follow as it emerges!