156
specialized reviews of the most important content
published in the 19th century (Bulletin of the Company
French of Photography, Bulletin of the Photo-Club of
Paris, the Light, the Monitor of Photography, the Review
of Photography) and gathered a collection of articles
relating to the old exposures. This was then fi led and
sorted to provide easy referencing.
Bernard Marbot
Further Reading
Aubenas, Sylvie et autres, L’Art du nu au XIXe siècle. Paris:
Hazan/BNF, 1997, 200 pp., ill.
——, Voyage en Orient, Paris: Hazan/BNF, 1999, 213 pp., ill.
Fierro, Alfred, Inventaire des photographies sur papier de la
Société de Géographie, Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1986,
196 pp.
Marbot Bernard et Naef, Weston J., Regards sur la photographie
en France au XIXe siècle: 180 chefs-d’oeuvre du département
des Estampes et de la Photographie. Paris: Berger-Levrault,
1980, 190 pp., ill.
——, “Collections de la Bibliothèque nationale,” in Photogra-
phies, n1, printemps 1983, 78–85.
——, “La Photographie ancienne,” in Arts & Métiers du livre,
n171, janv./févr. 1992, 80–89.
——, Objectif Cipango, photographies anciennes du Japon,
Paris: Paris audiovisuel, 1990, 58 pp., ill.
——, Les Photographes de Barbizon. Paris: Hoèbeke/BN, 1991,
92 pp., ill.
Marbot, Bernard et Rouillé, André, Le Corps et son image. Paris:
Contrejour, 1986, 144 pp., ill.
Marbot, Bernard et autres, Les Frères Bisson photographes. Paris:
BNF; Essen: Museum Folkwang, 1999, 231 pp., ill.
Poivert, Michel, Le Pictorialisme en France. Paris: Hoèbeke/BN,
1992, 108 pp., ill.
BIEWEND, HERMANN CARL EDUARD
(1814–1888)
German daguerreotypist
Biewend was born on 28 August 1814 in Rothehütte near
Hanover. He was a scientist and amateur daguerreotyp-
ist. He studied sciences and gained his doctorate. After
his studies he applied in 1843 for a job as treasurer in
the Royal Bank of Hamburg in Clausthal and got the
rights of an inhabitant of Hamburg. He published many
scholarly articles on chemistry and may have collabo-
rated with another scientist to test lenses and cameras.
He began to photograph sometime between 1846 and
1849, and he was one of the few German daguerreotyp-
ists to make landscapes and architectural views as well
as portraits.
Biewend participated for a long time only as an
amateur daguerreotypist who enjoyed little interest.
This was because the photo historians only knew two
daguerreotypes by him. That changed with the discovery
of a lot of his work in a private collection of the Ham-
burg-photographer Werner Bokelberg (1937–).
Thanks to this discovery we do know that Biewend
not only photographed architecture but also his family
and friends. His portraits show often himself, his wife
and children, his sister and her family. The portraits
were most of the time taken on location, often posed
outside his house or his sister’s home in Germany.
Typical in Biewend’s photographs, is the persons often
are placed full-length within the setting. The setting is
integral to the composition, and to our understanding
of the portrait as an intimate and informal family gath-
ering. While Biewend had to deal with changing light
and weather conditions he conquered the challenge of
complete control of his lighting. The fi ne detail and
delicate surface of his daguerreotypes gave his images a
quality that was quite different from others and unique.
He was an artist of rare delicacy and used sunlight and
shadow to great effect.
Much information concerning Biewend has been
found in his notes of 25 September 1843, like the fact
that he took over the function of treasurer from Schirven
Knoph. He worked during 33 years as a treasurer for the
bank, from 1843 to 1876. This has been unknown for a
long time. Just after the discovery of the daguerreotypes
in the private collection or Bokelberg, someone started
to do research in the old town fi les of Hamburg. Between
1846 and 1849 Biewend started to do experiments with
photography. He experimented in his laboratory with
gold, silver and other metals, as well as with indigo,
saltpeter and potassium, pyrolusite and other chemicals.
It is rather strange that in those times it was accepted
to combine a job as a treasurer with a free practice.
Biewend could clean gold and other metal very well
and introduced this in his sensitive solutions, suppos-
edly by his experience in his state offi ce. There he had,
of course, experience with very fi ne and detailed work
like with gold and silver on the currencies.
That had to be correct during the manufacturing of
currencies. The many details on Biewend’s daguerreo-
types are very characterizing for his work. He left behind
a treasure of information on his daguerreotypes such
as the type of camera, data of the subject, place, and
time. Both the contents and the technical aspects of the
photograph are defi ned, also a habit from his profes-
sion in the bank. Since daguerreotypes are on polished
silver and subject to tarnishing, daguerreotypes were put
behind glass and sealed with paper tape so air could not
tarnish the plate (there often is some tarnish around the
edges of the picture). Daguerreotypes that have survived
show Biewend’s skilled use of painted backgrounds, of
curtained dummy windows. Several of these examples
were handcoloured. Coloring was applied very care-
fully with dry color mixed with fi nely powdered gum,
for the daguerreotype image is very delicate. Breathing
on the plate was suffi cient to soften the gum and fi x
the color. His portraits were among the best ever done