M. Verveer, The Hague, March 1866 and Bayard et Bertall, Paris, April 1866.
Some shots from Andersens trip abroad in 1866 reveal that his gradually more relaxed relationship with the camera allowed him to be shown from more sides, even though they might not be the most flattering each time. Andersen was not really very fond of these shots but acknowledged them and faithfully sent a couple of samples for his friend Edvard Collins collection.
Photo by: M. Verveer, The Hague, March 1866 and Bayard et Bertall, Paris, April 1866.
Harald Paetz, Copenhagen, November 1866.
Another manifestation of Andersens more straightforward relationship with photography was that, in l866, he allowed himself for the first time in quite a while to be photographed from his left profile. It might have been that, at first blush, this was his least advantageous side. However, it could be worked on by getting him to settle down more comfortably. It also became clear that he had just as kind an expression from this side. In fact, it turned out that this was the side his friends preferred.
Photo by: Harald Paetz, Copenhagen, November 1866.
Budtz Müller, Copenhagen, 13 October 1867.
From around 1865, cabinet photography began to gain ground alongside the classic carte-de-visite photograph. The format was larger, the equipment more sophisticated, and the pictures were produced for display. Photographers everywhere were now clamoring for the famous writer. Nor did Hans Christian Andersen himself dampen the tempo.
Photo by: Budtz Müller, Copenhagen, 13 October 1867.
Budtz Müller, Copenhagen, 13 October 1867.
Thursday the 10th ... Sat for Miss Hallager. Friday the 11th. Rain; not very well. Sat for a cabinet portrait for Hansen ... Saturday the 12th. Sat for a cabinet portrait for Budtz Müller, but the weather was too bad... Sunday the 13th. Beautiful sunny weather, sat for Budtz Müller ... Monday the 14th. ... Went to Voss about my teeth... Tuesday the 15th. Beautiful weather, ate at a restaurant. Visited Israel Melchior and Watt. Wednesday the 16th. Sunshine ... Sat for Miss Hallager. Again ate at a restaurant... Thursday the 17th. Rain; not really well, head heavy and legs weak. Nevertheless, went out to the photographer Hansen, but the weather was too dark... Friday the 18th. Sat for a cabinet picture with photographer Hansen... Saturday the 19th. Sat an hour for dentist Voss...
Photo by: Budtz Müller, Copenhagen, 13 October 1867.
Thora Hallager, Copenhagen, October 1867.
In 1867, Hans Christian Andersen rented quarters from a photographer, Thora Hallager, near the square of Kongens Nytorv, and, of course, he sat as a model for her. Thora Hallager made this fine, little portrait of her tenant, one of the most elegant and captivating portraits of the writer ever made. Note that it was taken from his left side. At this time in a supplement to The Fairy Tale of My Life, Hans Christian Andersen wrote about the property in which he was living and its facilities: "At street level is one of the citys largest and most frequented cafés; on the first floor, a restaurant; on the second, a club and, on my floor, there is a doctor. Above that is the photographers studio. Clearly, therefore, I have food and drink at hand, do not lack for company, will not die without medical attention, and am able to have a photographer preserve my image for the future. My situation is very good."
Photo by: Thora Hallager, Copenhagen, October 1867.
I.B. Melchior, Villa Rolighed, Copenhagen, 1866-67.
Another gifted amateur photographer in Hans Christian Andersens acquaintance, manufacturer Israel B. Melchior, had the opportunity to test his skills on the writer. These shots were taken at the summer villa "Rolighed" (Tranquility), owned by his brother Moritz G. Melchior in the Østerbro quarter of Copenhagen. I.B. Melchiors preferred medium was stereoscopic photography, which was much in fashion toward the end of the 1860s, and he put several of these private pictures on the market to the delight of many. The pictures should be seen through a stereoscopic viewer, which produced a three-dimensional effect.
Photo by: I.B. Melchior, Villa Rolighed, Copenhagen, 1866-67.
Villa Rolighed. Hans Christian Andersen with the painter Carl Bloch and Moritz G. Melchior.
I.B. Melchior employed a subtle pictorial composition here in which Andersen, even though he is somewhat distant from the other figures, nevertheless draws the eye's attention with his clenched left hand, the center of the composition and focal point. There is hardly any doubt that Melchior also wanted to say something about his central figure: Even though Hans Christian Andersen might feel distant from others, he had power over the situation; it was in the palm of his hand, so to speak.
Photo by: I.B. Melchior, Villa Rolighed, Copenhagen 1866-67.
I.B. Melchior, Copenhagen 14 July 1867.
This shot of Hans Christian Andersen on a garden bench at Villa Rolighed can be dated from the copy of Illustreret Tidende, which he holds out with a report of the execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico on the front page. Andersen wanted to show his concern and for good reason: The year before, the Emperor had decorated him with the commander cross of the Mexican order, Notre Dame de Guadeloupe. When Maximilian was still a boy, Andersen had read aloud to his mother, Countess Sophie of Austria.
Photo by: I.B. Melchior, Copenhagen 14 July 1867.
I.B. Melchior, Copenhagen, 30 August 1867.
I.B. Melchior also experimented with more ordinary carte-de-visite photography and, on 30 August 1867, he made a longer series of intense portrait studies, which consciously focused on a side of Hans Christian Andersen that one might call original and for which Melchior was not the only of Andersens friends to have an eye. The English literary critic Edmund Gosse, who also knew Andersen intimately, later described it in this way: "In the face, Andersen was a peasant. A long life of spiritual work and culture had not been able to expunge the original stamp of the clay. However, with surprising quickness, this impression yielded to a sense of his inner nobility..."
Photo by: I.B. Melchior, Copenhagen, 30 August 1867.
I.B. Melchior, Copenhagen, 1868. Elfelt copy.
After his death, I.B. Melchiors glass plates went to the photographer Elfelt in Copenhagen, and it says something about the fame of Hans Christian Andersen and the popularity of stereoscopic photography that he continued production and sale of these pictures until around 1900, twenty-five years after the authors death.
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