A group of German officers and soldiers of the XI Army Corps pose in and around a wooded encampment, arranged before a large canvas ridge tent. Some men stand in dress uniform with sabres, others sit informally on camp chairs; a wooded backdrop of bare and coniferous trees frames the scene, and a numbered inscription '30.' appears in ink at the top of the mount. The composition, typical of documentary war stereoviews, records camp life rather than combat, with the tent and grouped figures serving as the central subject.
The printed caption on the verso identifies the image as plate No. 3 of a series titled 'Feldlazareth in Wörth' (Field Hospital in Wörth), issued by the Berlin publishing house of Sophus Williams in conjunction with E. Linde & Co., placing the scene within the aftermath of the Battle of Wörth of 6 August 1870.
Photographer/publisher: Sophus Williams (E. Linde & Co.), Berlin
Period/date: 1870-1871
Dimensions: 175 x 85 mm
Condition: Good; overall even sepia-toned albumen prints with light to moderate scattered foxing across both stereo halves, a vertical separation crease at the center join, and mild edge wear and toning to the mount. The mount corners show the period-typical clipped-corner design; reverse shows light overall browning consistent with age.
Reverse: Printed caption in red ink: '30. Feldlazareth in Wörth No. 3 (XI. Armee-Corps) mit Zelt. Verlag v. Sophus Williams (E. Linde & Co.) Berlin.' with a contemporary pencil or ink collector's inscription 'D. L. de Haas' at lower left.
Keywords: Germany, Franco-Prussian War, field hospital, stereoview, Sophus Williams
Photographer Biography:
Sophus Williams was the trade name of Sophus Vilhelm Schou, born in Copenhagen in 1835 and active as a photographer and publisher in Berlin.
He partnered with businessman Rudolph Knaak in 1868 to acquire the Berlin art-dealing firm E. Linde & Co., under whose imprint much of his stereoscopic and card-mounted photography was issued.
The firm produced stereoviews, cartes de visite, and cabinet cards, including documentary series relating to the Franco-Prussian War.
Williams died in Grabow, Germany, in 1900.
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