Tuesday, April 16, 2013

UNIFORMOLOGY 101 "A special treat from Guy Dempsey"!

With gracious thanks to my good friend and mentor Guy Dempsey for sending to me and allowing me to post the following article (The links and photo's were added by myself);

Guy Dempsey
December 5, 2003
Soldats Napoleoniens No. 3




THE HAMBURG MANUSCRIPT

            My first two columns on primary sources have emphasized how difficult it can be to get to the bottom of the history of a particular source and, consequently, how difficult it can be to assess source reliability.  By way of contrast, a relatively large amount of information is readily available about the famous Hamburg Manuscript discussed in this column but that information still needs to be carefully scrutinized.  In this case, such scrutiny calls into question some of the most popular conceptions concerning the Manuscript, but ultimately provides a basis for re-affirming its’ status as one of the best first-hand sources for Napoleonic uniform information.


SOURCE DESCRIPTION


NAME OF SOURCE:           
          
           Although the Hamburg Manuscript is German in origin, it has been traditionally referred to in Napoleonic uniform circles by its French title “Manuscrit [ou Album] du Bourgeois de Hambourg.”



NAME AND DATES OF ARTIST: 


            Other than as discussed below, there is unanimous agreement that the so-called “Bourgeois de Hambourg” responsible for the Hamburg Manuscript was the eldest of three artistic brothers in the Suhr family.  There is, however, considerably less agreement about his first name, which is variously reported as Christian, Christoffer; Christof and Christoph(e) (with and without an “e” at the end).  “Christoph” is the variant used by Richard Knötel in his description of the Manuscript beginning in Mitteilungen zur Geschichte der Militärischen Tracht No. 9 (1902), p. 34, 

by René Colas in his Bibliographie Générale du Costume et de la Mode (2 vols., Paris 1933) 


and by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker in the Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler (Leipzig nd), 


but Commissaire-General Stiot of La Sabretache has asserted that the artist was named “Christian, et non Christofer comme on a coutume de le prenommer.”  (Stiot, “Monographie des Éditions de l’Album du Bourgeois de Hambourg”, Carnet de la Sabretache No. 19 (NS) (1973), pp. 94-96 at 94.)    


      The only primary information available, which comes from some engravings in the Musée de l’Armée that were produced by the Suhr brothers but that are not part of the Hamburg Manuscript, indicates that Stiot’s views are wrong even if those of the other experts are just short of being exactly right.  Four of these engravings bear the legend “Christof Suhr del -- Cornelius Suhr Sculpsit” (emphasis added).   (This information is reported in a short article about the prints in Carnet de la Sabretache No. 417 (1958), pp. 435-436 at 435.)

            Whatever his first name may have been, Suhr was born in 1771 and (according to the Künstler Lexikon) became a Professor of an art academy in Berlin in 1796.  He eventually returned to Hamburg, where he became renowned for his portraits and his scenes of Hamburg life and history.  The Künstler Lexikon devotes a respectable column and a half to the life and work of this artist, but does not mention the Hamburg Manuscript.  Professor Suhr died in 1842.

      The other brothers who probably collaborated in producing the Manuscript were Cornelius (1781-157) and Peter (1788-1857), both of whom merit their own entries in the Künstler Lexikon.  Cornelius was an artist, engraver and lithographer who also worked with Christof on other projects including most notably in this context a beautiful set of 18 colored engravings of the Spanish troops serving in Napoleon’s army.  This set (sometimes called the “Little Suhr Manuscript”) is formally entitled “Sammlung Verscheidener Spanischer Nationaltrachten und Uniformen der Division des Marquis de la Romana, 1807 und 1808 in Hamburg” and the prints bear the notation: “[G]ezeichnet von Christ. Suhr, Prof.  Radirt und geätzt von Corn. Suhr.”  (Colas No. 2833, p. 1010.)    Peter is listed as a lithographer and watercolorist.                             


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE:




             The Hamburg Manuscript is, despite its name, is not a manuscript at all.  It is rather a bound collection of colored lithographs depicting types of Napoleonic soldiers that served in Hamburg during the period of the French occupation of that city that was published sometime between 1815 and 1820 under the following title:

"Abbildung Der Uniformen Aller in Hamburg Seit den Jahren 1806 bis 1815 Einquartirt Gewesener Truppen"

[“Représentation des Uniformes de Toutes les Troupes qui ont été Casernées à Hambourg, de l’Année 1806 à l’Année 1815”]

      Each page in the bound sets is approximately 20 cm by 28 cm.  With two exceptions noted below, each page bears a single scene containing one or more figures and has a caption in German script at the bottom describing the unit or types of soldiers depicted. 

LOCATION OF SOURCE:              

      There are four known full sets of the Hamburg Manuscript lithographs.  Two are in Hamburg (one in the Commerzbibliothek and one in the State Archives), one is in the Anne Brown Collection and one is in the Lipperheide Kostumbibliothek.  There is no evidence that any other set were ever made, nor is there any evidence that plates were sold individually, so the four full sets make the Hamburg Manuscript an extremely limited edition publication.





HISTORY OF SOURCE:                                                                 

      Although all experts agree that the Manuscript was created sometime after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, I have not found any primary source information that confirms the dates that the lithographs were actually produced.   The Manuscript was apparently known to certain specialist military artists and researchers during the 19th Century, but it did not become the subject of wide-spread attention from uniformologists until 1899, when twelve facsimiles of the copy of the Manuscript owned by the Commerzbibliothek in Hamburg were made on the initiative of Edouard Detaille, then president of La Sabretache, and A. Raffet, then curator of the Cabinet d’Estampes of the Bibliotheque Nationale (and the son of Denis Marie Auguste Raffet, another famous French artist specializing in military subjects).  It has subsequently been the object of study by many experts, but none of them has contributed any specific information about the provenance of this source.

NUMBER AND TYPES OF UNIFORMS DEPICTED:    

      There is a slight controversy about the exact count of lithographs in the Manuscript.  Glasser’s Catalogue, which provides French translations of the original German captions for the plates, lists 158 plates.  Rigo, however, reports that the copy in the Commerz Bibliothek in Hamburg has 159 plates.  (Rigo, “Les Hollandais du Roi Louis”, Uniformes No. 69 (Septembre-Octobre1982), pp. 13-17 at 14.)  




      Finally, the catalogue of the Lipperheide Kostumbibliothek refers to 157 pictures.  The reason for these differences in numbering is probably the fact that there are two places in the Manuscript in which a single scene extends across two pages of individual plates.  The first is a picture of the Heads of Column for the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the Line of the Kingdom of Holland, which is identified in Glasser as Plates 112 and 113.   
  

Tambour-Major, Füsilier-Pfeiffer und Grenadier-Pfeiffer des 6. Infanterie-Regiments (2. Bataillon), Plate 112.


Musiker des 7. Infanterie-Regiment, Plate 113.


      The second is a picture of the 2nd Westphalian Regiment of Chevaulegers with three distinct elements – a line a mounted trumpeters, a duo of mounted Chevaulegers with lances and a single mounted officer in between.  This picture is listed in Glasser as Plates 135 and 136.  
 
Trompeter und Offizier des 2. Chevauleger-Regiments, Plate 135.


Soldaten des 2. Chevauleger-Regiments, Plate 136.


      If each of these scenes is counted as a single plate, the correct number of plates is 156.  If they are both counted as two plates, the correct count is 158.  If the Westphalian picture is rated as three separate pictures, the correct number is 159.  

      The breakdown of plates by nationality (using a base of 158) is as follows:

58 French                                 
35 Dutch                                              
33 Spanish
7 Westphalian                          
7 Russian                                              
4 Italians
3 Danes                                   
2 Hanover                                           
2 Berg
1 English                                  
1 Swedish                                            
1 Mecklembourg-Schwerin
1 Saxon                                    
1 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt                  
1 Frankfurt
1 Brunswick

      Although they do not appear on a plate of their own, the Manuscript also depicts three soldiers of the City Guard of Hamburg, which was dressed in red uniform jackets with blue facings.  Two of these figures appear with a Spanish Soldier in Plate No. 33.
  
City Guard of Hamburg, Plate 33.



      The third, who is wearing a red cloak and a red grenadier miter cap, is in Plate No. 100.

Grenadier of the city guard, Plate 100.

      Twenty-one of the plates depict a single military figure, but the rest all depict at least two soldiers, with eight being the largest number of individually-detailed figures on a single plate.  Focusing only on figures whose uniforms are visible enough for detailed analysis, the Manuscript depicts approximately 440 different Napoleonic soldiers. 

KNOWN COPIES:   

      The Hamburg Manuscript is so well known and so well - respected as a source information about Napoleonic military dress that it has been reproduced more times than almost any other similar source.  Unfortunately, the quality of these copies varies from very reliable to woeful, with many variations in between.  Examples of very good reproductions are the facsimile copies of the Manuscript that were initiated by Detaille and Raffet.  That copying project was managed by Henri Bouchot and the facsimiles themselves were prepared by the French artist, Jacques Onfroy de Breville (JOB).  (Stiot, “Monographie”, at p. 95; the project is also mentioned in the text accompanying Plate No. 15 in JOB’s Tenues des Troupe de France, Vol. 6 (1902).)


      
      Even though these copies are generally reputed to be quite accurate in terms of detail, they are (based on review of a single plate from an alleged JOB copy that came up for auction on E-Bay in July of 2001) noticeably less attractive than the originals.  On the other hand, a limited edition published “reprint” of the plates of the Manuscript produced in 1902 by M. Terrel de Chenes is one of the worst reproductions of any source ever published -- almost none of the copies are accurate in terms of design, detail or color.  Fortunately for current uniformologists, however, Tradition Magazine has eliminated the problem of finding a reliable copy by publishing color photographs of the plates of the Manuscript in the Lipperheide Collection as Hors Série No. 5.    




COMMENTS ON AUTHENTICITY:                 

      Although the Hamburg Manuscript is not in any technical sense a primary source of uniform information because it consists of lithographs published a few years after the Napoleonic era, that detail has traditionally been overlooked because of the key fact that the Suhr brothers definitely lived in Hamburg during the years covered in the scope of the Manuscript, so it is certain that they would have been able to observe first-hand the soldiers and uniforms depicted.  If any specific proof of this fundamental aspect of the Manuscript is needed, it is provided by a December 14, 1813 report of a French officer besieged in Hamburg who was called upon to consider a case involving suspicious activity by a citizen of the town:

Le Génie a fait arrêter hier un nommé Suhr qui s’amusait à dessiner un point de vue en dehors du Brokthor.  J’ai pris des renseignements sur la moralité de cet homme et d’après les bons rapports qui m’ont été faits, j’ai ordonné son élargissement.

      The report does not specify which brother was involved in this incident, but the Anne Brown Collection has a lithograph of “Das Brokthur in Hamburg Wahrend das Belagerungszeit 1813-14” that has a caption that names Peter Suhr as the artist responsible for the print.  (This report from the Archives du Service Historique de l’Armée is reproduced in a short note in Carnet de la Sabretache No. 19 (NS) (1973), p. 96.)


Das Brokthur in Hamburg Wahrend das Belagerungszeit 1813-14


      On the whole, then, one can be quite confident that the Manuscript is the product of direct observation, but that confidence cannot be absolute because two plates seem to be copies of other contemporary pictures.  (See Pierre Bretegnier, “A Propos de Bourgeois de Hamburg”, Carnet de la Sabretache N.S. 124 (1995).)


      In the first case, the French Marshal in Hamburg Plate No. 38 


Marschall Generalstabsoffizier, Plate 38.

is an exact copy of the same type of figure (“Maréchal de l’Empire”) as depicted in Print No. 248 of the Troupes Françaises series published by Aaron Martinet in Paris between 1807 and 1814.  

“Maréchal de France” as depicted in Print No. 248

      In the second case, the Saxon figures in Hamburg Plate No. 142 
 
Sachsen : Tambourmajor der Leib-Grenadier-Garde und Tambour vom Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Friedrich, Plate 142

strongly resemble similar figures in a series of prints concerning the Saxon Army created by an artist named Alexander Sauerweid in 1810.  

Saxon Army created by an artist named Alexander Sauerweid, c 1810.




      Both the Sauerweid and the Martinet prints are, however, themselves excellent sources of information about Napoleonic uniforms, so the inclusion of these copies does not in itself materially detract from the reliability of the Manuscript.

            Against this backdrop, there are two other measures that must be considered in judging the accuracy of the uniforms depicted in the Manuscript.  The first measure has to do with the exact methodology used to produce the lithographs, and there are two primary theories in this regard.

      The first theory, which is presented by Knötel, is that the artist who saw the soldiers depicted was also the person who drew the pictures directly on the stone surfaces used to produce the lithographs.  If that was the case, then, giving the dating of the lithographs, the plates would be the product of an artist working from memory several years after the subjects were actually observed, a situation that would not be conducive to the depiction of accurate detail.  

      The second theory, mentioned by Stiot and others, is that the artist responsible for the Manuscript executed contemporaneous watercolor drawings whenever he observed an interesting soldier, uniform or military scene in Hamburg during the Napoleonic period and that these watercolors were later used as the basis for the lithographs.  If that was the case, then the only concern about accuracy of the lithographs would be the extent to which the lithographer (assumed for these purposes to be a person other than the artist) departed, if at all, from the original artwork in preparing the plates.

      Since there is no documentary evidence to support either theory and since there are no original drawings associated with the Manuscript currently in Hamburg, the choice between these two theories turns solely on one’s view of the authenticity of ten paintings existing today in specialist libraries that are thought to be the last remnants of the now lost collection of originals.  Five of these watercolors are in the Brunon Collection, two are in the Lipperheide Kostumbibliothek in Berlin and three are in the Anne Brown Collection in the Hay Library at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.  Close examination of the latter examples strongly suggests that the second theory is the right one.

            The watercolors in the Anne Brown Collection depict the following subjects:  

1) the elite chasseur of the 23rd Regiment that appears on the left side of Plate No. 53 (using Glasser’s numbering), 


Original held at BROWN.


Hamburg Plate 53.

2) the two Train officers that appear along with an officer of the 10th Hussars in Plate No. 67 and 


Original held at BROWN.


Hamburg Plate 67.

3) the four customs officers from Plate No. 94. 


Original held at BROWN


Hamburg Plate 67.

      The watercolors appear old enough to be from the relevant period, but they bear no dates or signatures that would provide definite proof that they are the original artwork on which the lithographs are based rather than free hand copies made from the lithographs.  Such proof could also have been provided by some stylistic evidence linking the watercolors directly to Professor Suhr, but if anything the naïve quality of the drawings (and of the lithographs as well) suggests that they are unlikely to have been works produced an art professor whose works appear in many German museums.   

      (Curiously, the two Manuscript-linked drawings in the Lipperheide Kostumbibliothek bear the words “Corn. Suhr”, although it is not clear whether these words constitute a signature or merely an attribution.  This might mean that the Manuscript was really the work of Cornelius Suhr and not his older brother.)  In the end, it seems most reasonable to conclude that the watercolors pre-date the Manuscript (and that the second theory is the right one) because the differences between the uniforms depicted in the watercolors and those in the Hamburg plates are most easily explained only if the watercolors are originals rather than copies.  

      For instance, there are at least sixteen specific details of the dress and appearance of the Customs Officers in Plate No. 94 that differ from the corresponding details in the watercolor of the same scene.  The most significant of these in the watercolor (such as the mustache on the left-hand figure and the black cross belts of the right hand figure) are so obvious that they are unlikely to be mistakes made from someone taking the trouble to make a direct copy from the lithographs, whereas they might not have been features considered very important by a lithographer copying from the watercolor.

            The second and final measure relating to the reliability of the Hamburg Manuscript has to do with the credibility of the subjects covered in the plates, and the Manuscript’s good reputation rests principally on the high marks it scores in this regard.  It is well verified, for instance, that almost all of the units depicted in the Manuscript did in fact visit Hamburg at one time or another during the years it purports to cover.  It is also well-known that some of the more unusual uniforms depicted in the Manuscript can be verified from other sources in ways that cannot be explained by mere coincidence, such as the white uniforms worn by the figures in Plate No. 80, 


Hamburg Plate 80.

all of which belong to some of the few regiments that participated in Napoleon’s experiment with white uniforms in 1806.  

      Ironically, the accuracy of the uniform information is even clearer in some cases where the captions of the plates are actually wrong.  For instance, Plate 55 has a caption about the “Französische Polnische Legion” [“Franco-Polish Legion”]. 


Hamburg Plate 55.

      There is no such unit, but the uniforms happen to match the description of some unusual uniforms worn by the remnants of the 17th Lithuanian Lancers when they served in Marshal Davout’s corps in 1813.  The best explanation for these may simply be that whichever Suhr brother actually painted the watercolors often failed to make a contemporaneous note of the unit title.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Peter Harrington, the curator of the Anne Brown Collection, Yves Martin, Alfred Umhey, and other experts concerning primary iconographic sources for the study of Napoleonic uniforms, for their assistance in the preparation of this column.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Uniformology 101 (The Burgeois de Hamburg)!

      So as you can see it's not always so obvious to tell as to what may be the original source and what may not! Frankly it can be somewhat mind numbing at times.


It can often be much like trying to decipher hieroglyphics! With some deliberate and not so deliberate graffiti involved.


      What you were looking at in the prior posting was a series of plates/prints which I've collected for research purposes over a lengthy period of time. They all come from one of the best known Napoleonic Era Uniform Manuscripts of all time (The Hamburg Manuscript). Called by various titles & descriptions over the years, this has often lead to some confusion sometimes, and routinely occurs when researching original Uniform manuscripts. "The Hamburg Manuscript's" official titles are known as;  

(1.) "Représentation des uniformes de toutes les troupes qui ont été casernées à Hambourg, de l'année, 1806 [i.e. dix-huit cent six] à l'année 1815 [i.e. dix-huit cent quinze] : reproduction de l'album dit, "Manuscrit du bourgeois de Hambourg"



or

(2.)"Abbildung der Uniformen aller in Hamburg seit den Jahren 1806 bis 1815 einquartirt gewesener Truppen"

Known in English as "The Bourgeois de Hambourg"

      The "Manuscrit du Bourgeois de Hambourg" was published in 1820 from a set of contemporary plates painted by Christian Suhr (1771-1842) and printed by his brother Cornelius (1781-1857). They depict all the troops stationed in or passing through Hamburg, Germany from 1806 to 1815.

      From 1806 to 1815, Christian Suhr, took daily sketches of the many troops who succeeded in the garrison. In 1820 with the help of his brothers, he produced an album of 158 prints which today remains as one of the best known sources of amateurs who painted uniforms of the Empire during the era and remains a premiere documented ( Will discuss what constitutes documented in next posting ) resource

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.napoleon-online.de/suhr.html&usg=ALkJrhjP0etlLluMpCrxgku0Rg6qNR-iOg


      The Original watercolors: ( Amazingly none of which were shown in the previous posting! As few are known to actually still exist. )

      The layout is 0.31 x 0.19, without either any title, nor any number, and the watercolors can just be identified according to the plate-figures (As shown in the previous post). The Salon de Provence Emperi Museum Library (Much of which has been sold off. Authors note: I've purchased several items from this collection) has got five original watercolors (no 158 and 159), one of them was signed by Cornelius. There may be a few other copies in Germany, but they have certainly been destroyed because of the war. ? It should be mentioned that Knotel certainly knew of a few original plates, his work is actually largely drawn from those: His #14 plate, is in fact a reproduction of #83 of the Bourgeois de Hambourg. (1)

      This however may be incorrect? For instance I was continuing research online and have now found that not only were all these images (painted separately supposedly as originals in the above theory), but they were painted as large groups together as well, which I have rarely ever encountered or seen. So it appears maybe things are backwards (Cart before the horse, Chicken and the egg?) with the originality question. I'm not 100% entirely sure at this point? Possibly it was originally painted in the huge groupings and then later broken down into individual sets of figures but only for the second work (3.) and not the first? There would need to be groupings of the first work as well which I've yet to locate.





Appears to have been the original work, which was what the Suhr brothers are typically known for producing. Scenes around the city of Hamburg.


Later broken down into individual stylized prints of the time with various backgrounds?


Ibid


Which allowed the artist to provide more details.


Notice all the individual little clothing details of the figures.


      Because of the broad coverage of the various countries and branches, 4 original early copies of the work were known to have been made. To date, 4 of these copies are known:

      The four copies of the original issued Manuscript:

      By 1808, the brothers Suhr had published, after the original plates, a series of 18 colored and engraved plates representing "The Division: La Romana" (see Tradition magazine #131) and, by 1820, the great series of 158 plates (four original copies). This series is known as  "The Manuscript" or "The Burgess of Hamburg's album' for the man series, and "A selection of the different national costumes and the Romana Marquess Division's Uniforms, garrisoned in Hamburg in 1807 and 1808" (1.) and reside here;

1. The library of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce 
2. The town of Hamburg record office
3. One issue in the Brown library (former issue beloning to Bols - Lecomte viscount, who had got it from Noirmont as mentioned by Glasser (Will discuss him in next next post!).
4.The Berlin Lipperheide Library has got one issue. Thats the one we've been consulting. All these are for sure the first four original issues.  (2)     

(Authors note: Umm! NEWSFLASH Tradition #5, the original four don't match based on the above information, but are more understandable only when broken down by their respective titles (1.), (2.), (3.) & production dates!) 

Additional known copies of the Manucript:

- Facsimile with an edition of 12/13 copies in 1899 on the basis of the original library of Commerz Hamburg for a select, French collector group (under the guidance of the famous painter Edouard Detaille).

(Detaille's exact Copy by A. Millot (Member of Sabretache), again, using the original library at Commerz Hamburg. This copy is still in the possession of the Association Sabretache. (Authors note: And has original notes from Knotel? What about (1) above?)

- Limited edition of a facsimile copy of Millot's of 155 copies by Terrel des Chenes in 1902. These copies are sometimes seen on Ebay to buy for a very high price, but they are rare to see.  (Author owns a vellum copy #140)
 
- From 1922 to 1925 copies made by/for the artist Henri Boisselier by JOB and a copy of an original reference.
 
- In 1947 M. Ballada made a copy of the first facsimile of 1899, again in an edition of 12 hand-colored copies.


Which is the main work from which it comes and can be found here;

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.napoleon-online.de/suhr.html&usg=ALkJrhjP0etlLluMpCrxgku0Rg6qNR-iOg

And consists of mainly four parts;


 http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.napoleon-online.de/suhr_frankreich.html&usg=ALkJrhgp02UvyTBKv3blf-_RcfqqiaEyow

 http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.napoleon-online.de/suhr_holland.html&usg=ALkJrhglcktbE-AQ5yFEwpOgQBD0FB7JgA

 http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.napoleon-online.de/suhr_sonstige.html&usg=ALkJrhjqpYWbKJQEenL57Pe0ktAKNvLODA

The second lesser known work is entitled:
 
(3.)"Sammlung verschiedener Spanischer National-Trachten und Uniformen der Division des Marquis de La Romana, 1807 und 1808 in Hamburg in Garnison" 

      Known in English as the "The Spanish Romana Division in Hamburg (1807 - 1808)" which depicts only the Spanish troops from the above titled work.

      Together with his brother Cornelius, Christian Suhr published a small series of 18 panels on the Spanish contingent of the Romana Division in Hamburg during 1807 and 1808.

Which can often lead to confusion with the above work, and be found here;
    

      The plates are to often attributed incorrectly only to artist Cornelius Suhr, or entirely mislabeled and identified as either Christoffer Suhr, and Peter Suhr. 

 The original brothers Suhr were:
  •   Christof Christoffer (*29 May 1771 in Hamburg, † May 13 1842) Artist.
  • Cornelius (*8 January 1781 in Hamburg, †3 July 1857) Engraver.
  • Peirre Peter (*17 June 1788 in Hamburg, † 20 September 1857) Lithographer.
were German lithographers, painters and draftsmen.

      The brothers Suhr created several hundred lithographs, drawings, prints, graphics and etchings and scenes - since their lifetime - they are considered as the most important artists of Hamburg. As their works mostly served the City of Hamburg and portrayed their national life, and the former suburbs of Hamburg.  

      The pictures of the brothers Suhr continue to shape the concept of Hamburgensie . [1]




      Even though their names are still often confused today. Take the following example for instance;

      Christof Christoffer Suhr completed - in fact the only one of the three brothers - an artistic education. First, he studied with the portrait painter FC Löhr in Hamburg, then later he went to Brunswick to the landscape painter PJF Weitsch to gain more knowledge. Since it was common at that time, as an artist, to visit Italy, Christoffer also explored for three years, from 1792 to 1795, the Mediterranean country. In 1796 he was awarded the Berlin Academy title Professor extraordinarius . Since 1796 he was again based in Hamburg. Christoffer was at that time a prominent portrait painter, he was especially well known for his works of traditional costumes and customs in Hamburg (from 1800) and The Starting in Hamburg (1806/07) [2] . He was a member of the Hamburg Masonic Lodge St. George to verdant pine since 1817.

      Cornelius Suhr worked since 1805 with his brother Christoffer. He mainly worked as an engraver and draftsman, and was to some extent known for the great panoramic views of Hamburg, which he created and whose sales he got.

      Pierre Peter Suhr worked as a businessman. He came relatively late, at around 1819, in the company of his two elder brothers, henceforth designated Spielkartenfabrik and Kupferdruckerey CCP Suhr. He supported Christoffer at Panorama Exhibitions in Hamburg, and built in his way a lithographic press, which he operated from 1828. Peter was the one of the brothers of the original printing and publishing business. He made particular drawing templates for the family business. He has, among other things contributed substantially to the series published in 1829 Views of Hamburg and its environs, which appeared in the folio and octavo. 

      In 1831 he formed the playing card factory and Kupferdruckerey CCP Suhr and the Lithographic Institute Peter Suhrkamp. From 1838 he was working on the ships out of Hamburg's past in pictorial representations in folio format. The images thus found widespread reached a high level of awareness. After the eldest brother had died, Peter led from 1842 in addition to the lithographic press further the Panorama exhibitions.

      Above information was found here;


  1. Hamburger Abendblatt article Hamburgensie - Only in Hamburg on 26 June 2002
  2. The five senses , color lithograph by Christoffer clock on the front page of Lichtwark Issue No. 69th Publisher HB Commercial, Hamburg-Bergedorf, 2004 ISSN 1862-3549 . (As of 31 May 2010).