The stereoview shows the fire-gutted, roofless shell of a Gothic-arched building standing beside a still-inhabited townhouse whose façade shows visible shell damage, cracked masonry, and boarded shutters. A low stone garden wall, bare winter trees, and a cobbled street occupy the foreground, with a row of ordinary townhouses visible to the left. A printed caption on the mount identifies the site as the ruined library of Strasbourg, photographed at the war theater of 1870.
The printed caption corresponds to the destruction of Strasbourg's municipal library, which was housed in the former Dominican church of the Temple Neuf and burned during the Prussian bombardment of the night of 24-25 August 1870. The vertical imprint on the mount identifies the publisher as E. Linde's Photographic Depot in Berlin, a firm known to have issued topographical and documentary stereoviews, including Franco-Prussian War subjects, in this period.
Photographer/publisher: E. Linde's Photographisches Depôt, Berlin
Period/date: circa 1870-1871
Dimensions: 175 x 85 mm
Condition: Good; the mount shows even overall toning and light surface soiling to the red card stock, with minor rubbing to the corners and edges. The albumen prints display light yellowing consistent with age but retain good overall clarity and contrast, with no significant tears, foxing, or losses noted.
Reverse: No verso scan available.
Keywords: Strasbourg, Franco-Prussian War, albumen stereoview, siege ruins, E. Linde
Photographer Biography:
Operated in Berlin during the 1870s-1890s as a publisher and distributor of stereoviews.
Issued topographical series covering German cities and sites, often working with outside photographers whose negatives it published under its own imprint.
Also distributed documentary views related to contemporary events, including scenes from the Franco-Prussian War.
No further verified biographical details on the founder or firm structure are available.
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