Fotograafi luulealbum: Gedichte von Charles Borchardt: A Photographer's Poetry Album: Gedichte von Charles Borchardt

Abstract

The poetry album written by the well-known photographer CharlesBorchardt is a remarkable historical source of Baltic German occasionalpoetry in terms of its content as well as design. The handwritten,beautifully bound album has 568 pages numbered by the author, plusa register. The titles of the chapters and poems are highlighted in calligraphy,and the poems often end with a vignette. The pages, partiallywritten in gold, are artistically designed with thematic romantical(decal) pictures, printed lithographies and a few photos.The poetry album contains three chapters, it begins with a prologueand dedication (Prolog und Weihe), the first chapter is titled „TheSoft, Gentle Period“, the most comprehensive chapter is „The SecondPeriod“ (Zweite Period), and finally „The Third Period“ (Dritte Period),followed by the „Register“ (Inhalt) and „Annex“ (Anhang).The first part of the album, as the title highlights, consists mostlyof the author’s romantic occasional poetry and love poems, titled asfollows: „Ceremony of Youth“ (Jugend Feier), „Joy of Love“ (Freude anLiebe), „Bringer of Joy“ (Die Freundenspenderin), as well as descriptionsof the beauty of nature: „Song of Spring“ (Frühlingslied), „MorningSong of the Wanderer“ (Wanderers Morgenlied) etc.The second period starts with poems dedicated to people andplaces encountered on the road. Romantic nationalism is evident inthe poems „Greetings from Homeland“ (Heimatgruss), „Czar City“(Die Czarenstadt) etc. The poems dedicated to his kin deserve someattention as well: there are poems for his brothers, photographersRobert (Kunstgefühl) and Ferdinand (Epistel an Ferdinand B), hiswife Olga (An Olga), and poems shedding light on the personal celebrationsof the author’s life („On the Occasion of My 30th Birthday“[An meinem 30. Geburtstag], „25 March“ [Zum 25. Märtz]).Sonnets and epic ballades dominate in the third period: „Love andGrave“ 1–21 (Liebe und Grab), „Songs of Northern Lands“ 1–6 (NordischeLieder). Many texts carry a note on when they were publiclyperformed, for example, the poem dedicated to the silver wedding anniversaryof artists August Krüger and Caroline K. was „Performedon 30 August 1866“ (Zur Silber Hochzeit des Künstlerpaares AugustKrüger u. Caroline K. Angeführt am 30. August 1866), and the „Prologueto Silver Wedding Anniversary, „Party“. Performed on 14 March1868“ (Silberhochzeit “Fest” Prolog) etc.Borchardt’s poetry album contains pages upon pages of sentimentalpoems and cycles of poems driven by love, the beauty of natureand art. The motivation was often to amuse the public as well. Thealbum contains salon poetry written for acquaintances or importantpeople, as well as occasional poetry for performing at celebratory orcommunity events.Borchardt’s activity as a photographer allowed him to meet manyremarkable contemporaries. The ladies among them must have hada greater influence on the author, as is evident from the titles of numerouspoems dedicated to them. The contents of the poetry albumsuggest that Charles Borchardt had the romantic „soul of an artist“,and he was an active member of the society, as well as a remarkablephotographer.His main contribution to Estonian cultural history is his photoseries Estonian Types (Eesti tüübid; 1867), but also images of BalticGerman families, pastors, burghers, and views of Tallinn from thesecond half of the 19th century. As Borchardt and his direct offspringpassed away young, his personal heritage was left to its fate. Hence, itis gratifying that his poetry album and photos are preserved in Estonianmemory institutions and available to the public. This allows usto visually imagine the life, people, landscapes, and sights in the townof Tallinn in 19th century Estonia. We are also able read about thethoughts and feelings experienced by Charles Borchardt, the mostwell-known lensman in 19th century Estonia