A group of soldiers and bakery personnel posed outdoors before a long timber-framed field bakery, its ovens' chimneys visible along the roofline in the background. Several men wear military uniforms with peaked caps, while others appear in shirtsleeves, some seated on the ground and others standing or leaning against the structure; barrels and workbenches are visible to the right. The image is numbered '23' in ink at the top of the mount, and the scene is set on bare, trampled ground typical of a military encampment.
The printed verso label identifies the subject as a field bakery at Weissenburg, published by Sophus Williams under the imprint E. Linde & Co. of Berlin, a firm known for issuing extensive stereoview series documenting the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
Photographer/publisher: Sophus Williams (E. Linde & Co., Berlin)
Period/date: circa 1870
Dimensions: 175 x 85 mm
Condition: Good; overall yellowing of the mount consistent with age, light scattered foxing across the sky area of both stereo halves, and a small area of surface loss to the verso mount. The mount retains its characteristic diamond-clipped corners and shows minor edge wear, with the image itself stable and well defined.
Reverse: Printed paper label reading: '23. Feldbäckerei in Weissenburg. Verlag v. Sophus Williams (E. Linde & Co.) Berlin.' A green ink stamp reading 'D. L. de Haas' appears in the lower left corner, likely a collector's or dealer's mark.
Keywords: Germany, Franco-Prussian War, field bakery, stereoview, Sophus Williams
Photographer Biography:
Sophus Williams, born Sophus Vilhelm Schou in Copenhagen on 5 July 1835, was a Danish-born photographer and publisher active in Berlin who died on 18 October 1900 in Grabow.
He settled in Berlin after a period in London and took over the art dealing firm E. Linde & Co. in March 1868.
His publishing house issued views of sights and landmarks in numerous formats, including stereoscopic photographs, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, and leporellos, and by 1873 employed around twenty staff.
The firm published extensive documentary series relating to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, including scenes from behind the front lines as well as battle subjects.
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