Asta Bidspirit | Albert Meyer, Court Photographer (Hoffotograf)

Albert Meyer, Court Photographer (Hoffotograf) Berlin, Antique Cabinet Photo of a Woman, late 1800s-early 1900s Size: 21.7 x 13.2 cm. (8.5 x 5.2 inches) Some stains. Albert Meyer (1857-1924) was a German photographer and photographic entrepreneur best known as one of the principal photographers of the 1896 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, the first Olympic Games of the modern era. During his career he held the honorary title of Court Photographer (Hofphotograph), granted by the King of Saxony and later associated with other German princely courts. Albert Emil Karl Meyer was born on 27 February 1857 in Klotzsche, near Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony. At the age of 24 he traveled to the United States, where he completed approximately two years of professional photographic training. This American experience introduced him to modern studio techniques and helped establish his later reputation. Returning to Germany, Meyer opened his first photographic studio in Berlin in 1883 on Alexanderstraße. His business expanded rapidly: * He employed up to 15 staff members. * Additional studios opened elsewhere in Berlin. * Branches were later established in Stettin (Szczecin), Misdroy (Międzyzdroje), and Hanover. * By the 1890s he had become one of Germany's most successful commercial portrait photographers. Meyer prominently used the title ”Hof-Photograph” (Court Photographer) in advertisements and on his cabinet cards. The title came from his work for the King of Saxony and the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. However, because he operated in Berlin, Prussian authorities objected to the implication that he was photographer to the German Emperor. Meyer was required to specify exactly which royal courts had granted him the distinction whenever he used the title. Meyer's greatest significance comes from his work at the 1896 Athens Olympic Games. He traveled with the German Olympic delegation and produced what is now regarded as the most important surviving photographic record of the Games. His images stand out because of their careful composition and technical quality. Modern historians consider them the finest visual documentation of the inaugural modern Olympics. During his career Meyer received: * gold and silver medals at photographic exhibitions, * numerous decorations from European royal houses, * several court appointments, * recognition as one of Germany's leading portrait photographers before World War I. Meyer returned to Dresden in 1915. His final years were marked by personal and financial tragedy: * his son was killed during the First World War; * the German hyperinflation of 1923 destroyed his fortune; * he died in poverty in Dresden on 24 August 1924. - Albert Meyer, Court Photographer (Hoffotograf) Berlin, Antique Cabinet Photo of a Woman, late 1800s-early 1900s