Ferdinand
Schmidt
born Nürnberg, 19. Jun 1840
died Nürnberg, 22. Aug 1909
Full name: Schmidt, Georg Andreas Ferdinand
* 19. 6. 1840 Nuremberg - † 22. 8. 1909 Nuremberg, buried at the Westfriedhof.
Son of Georg the Elder ∞ I) Nuremberg 12.5.1867 Anna Margarethe Kurz (* 20.1.1833), childless; II) Nuremberg 14.3.1899 Kunigunda Käthe Reichel (* 30.11.1872).
He worked for a few years for the mechanic Wilhelm Stich in Tetzelgasse and was probably introduced to photography by his father. From 1860 at the latest, he worked in his father's business, which he continued alone from 1867. In 1873 he sold his share in the house at Burgstraße 26, where he nevertheless kept his apartment and studio on the second floor. He was Nuremberg's most important photographer of the 19th century; a photograph from 1880 shows him with five female employees. With a mobile darkroom, he documented Nuremberg's cityscape as an architectural photographer in around 2000 photographs, which were also reproduced as postcards in large editions. In addition, he also did the usual portrait and personal photography in his store.
Most of the photographs are kept as glass plate negatives, but also as original prints in the StadtAN. After Schmidt's death, his widow continued to run the studio together with Michael Stich.
Lit.: Mende, Rathaus 1979; Nuremberg 1865-1909, Photographs by Ferdinand Schmidt. Nuremberg 1987; Stadtlexikon 2000. exhib.: 1877/1; 1986/2; 1999/1.
