Month: January 2007

While talking on the phone last night, I sorted another stack of collage junk. In it I found a sepia tone print that had strayed from the Germany set. Unlike the others, though, this one is not a photograph. I’m not sure what, exactly, it is, but it seems to be a lithograph made from a photo. I’m going to try to do a little more research–there’s a maker’s inscription on the recto–before I post it.

In the meantime, I found a couple more older images of the Loreley Rock. The top photo is from my collection, and the bottom two are from the Library of Congress collections.

The Loreley rock is located on Germany’s Rhine River. It was historically a treacherous spot for boats, and unsurprisingly, there is a myth connected to it. Like the Greek Sirens, the Lorelei (from luren “murmuring” and ley “rock”) was a nymph whose singing lured sailors to their deaths. The Lorelei has often been depicted in art and poetry, usually as either a beautiful, nymph-like maiden or mermaid. Her song was caused by the sound of the swirling water echoing off the rock face. Long before the Lorelei was first popularized in art and poetry, though, the rock was thought to be an oracle. Passing sailors would shout questions into the rock face, and the resulting echo would answer them back.

Title: The Lorelei Rock (Rhine)
Panora, Ltd., photographer
Panora, Ltd., copyright claimant
Date Created/Published: c1921.
Medium: 1 photographic print : gelatin silver ; 8 x 35 in.
Summary: Man in uniform sitting on guard rail by river.
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-126296 (b&w film copy neg.)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. No renewal found in Copyright Office.
Call Number: PAN FOR GEOG – Germany no. 10 (E size) [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007663190/

I did a little investigating, and found that the above image, which is inscribed on the verso with the ever so helpful “Cologne — General view with Bridges of Boats — 3328,” is actually a photograph of the Deutz Ship Bridge. The Deutz Ship Bridge spanned the Rhine at Cologne. The Library of congress images are dated c. 1890-1900, but I’m going to assume that “my” photo is contemporary with the Katz Castle photo, which would make it at the earlier end of the range.

Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany
Title: [Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany]
Date Created/Published: [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-00804 (digital file from original)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: LOT 13411, no. 0804 [item] [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002714080/

Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany
Title: [Pontoon bridge from Deutz, Cologne, the Rhine, Germany]
Date Created/Published: [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].
Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-00805 (digital file from original)
Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Call Number: LOT 13411, no. 0805 [item] [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002714081/