German daguerreotypes in the frame at Chiswick sale

A portfolio of 10 images of the interiors of Bavarian and Russian palaces c.1860, each stamped 'Stereoscop von T Schneider und Sohne', along with a maker’s box and stereo viewer, estimated at £15,000-25,000 at Chiswick Auctions.

Trudpert Schneider (1804-99), a Freiburg carpenter whose first brush with photography was to repair a broken box camera, is today deemed one of Germany’s most important daguerreotypists. The photographic firm he founded in 1847 continued under the management of his sons Heinrich and Wilhelm until 1921.

Extracted from Antiques Trade Gazette | Roland Arkell

The Schneider and Sons atelier perfected the life of itinerant photographers – typically travelling from one lucrative city location to another, occasionally stopping in the country to photograph estates and castles by invitation.

Russian acclaim

The firm continued to produce daguerreotypes and stereo daguerreotypes well into the 1860s when the process had been replaced elsewhere by wet plate collodion photography.

At the height of their commercial success, during a trip to Russia in 1861, the Schneider brothers were treated as visiting dignitaries in Moscow and St Petersburg and given unparalleled access to the Hermitage, the Kremlin and members of the royal family.

A portfolio of 10 images of the interiors of Bavarian and Russian palaces c.1860, each stamped Stereoscop von T Schneider und Sohne, comes for sale on April 29 at Chiswick Auctions – one of a number of firms that continue to conduct ‘live online’ events in the current lockdown.

The auction house says it is the first time a group of this type has been offered on the open market complete with a contemporary maker’s box and stereo viewer (above).

The estimate at the auction on April 29 is £15,000-25,000.

View the catalogue entry for this Schneider and Sons portfolio of daguerrotypes on thesaleroom.com