Welta Weltur 6x9

[RedLion]

A few shots of my Welta Weltur.

On the leather case for it, it says:

Leopoldine Hurt
== Wien, VII ==
Karl Schwelghoferg, 10/28
​

I think the "Wein, VII" indicates Vienna Austria.

​

 

[joeswe]

Beautiful pics! Yes, this is a complete address, it is Wien (Vienna) in Austria, the VII indicates the 7th district and a street name "Karl-Schweighofer-(Gasse)", this is very much in the center of Vienna, in the "Museum's quarter", the official name of the district is Neubau. Leopoldine is a Germanic first name (the female form of Leopold) and sounds quite retro nowadays. Maybe it is still more common in Austria (the male form of the name is, I think).

 

[RedLion]

Thanks! I also see stamped the numbers 10/28. Could this mean October, 1928? I thought that the Welta was made in the 1930's so 1928 might be too early to be an actual date.

Any thoughts?

 

[joeswe]

Thanks! I also see stamped the numbers 10/28. Could this mean October, 1928? I thought that the Welta was made in the 1930's so 1928 might be too early to be an actual date.

Any thoughts?

I am not sure, but I think it is more like a house number. I remember somehow that the postal addresses in Vienna use a tricky system of two numbers behind the street name, but I am not entirely sure about it. It would be best to ask a local guy from Vienna, I haven't been there in a long time. BTW, I just read, coincidentally, that Neuhaus is the district where Johann Christoph Voigtländer settled down after he had moved from Leipzig to Vienna in 1755.

 

[jnoir]

Just thinking, couldn't it be a phone number? At least, 1 is the area code (or was) for Vienna. But, I don't know how where phone numbers organized by then. I read that used a similar method than that of the germans, with shorter numbers being older than the larger ones.

Edit: Or it may perfectly be that it is the full address, but according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_codes_in_Austria 1028 would place it in Leopoldstadt

 

[nosmok]

Love the 6x9 Weltur! Built like a tank, 2nd best finder on a folder, takes great pictures. I have plans, though, should I find another...

--nosmok

 

[sevo]

Just thinking, couldn't it be a phone number?

Nope. The address is pretty familiar to me, a friend had a studio in 10/27, one door adjacent in the same building complex (a mid 19th century complex of flats). It is the lane going along the back of the main museum and art school block in Vienna, by the way. Does not have shops, and does not look as if it once had either - the original seller probably was a photographer working out of a flat/loft studio.

These xx/yy numbers are common even today, Vienna has composite addressing, in particular for streets developed in the 19th or first half of the 20th century, with house/[staircase or flat] (sometimes even both, making it triplicate) numbers. I'll try to get my friend on the phone tomorrow, it might even be that that studio was in the next door flat...

 

[joeswe]

Just thinking, couldn't it be a phone number? At least, 1 is the area code (or was) for Vienna. But, I don't know how where phone numbers organized by then. I read that used a similar method than that of the germans, with shorter numbers being older than the larger ones.

Edit: Or it may perfectly be that it is the full address, but according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_codes_in_Austria 1028 would place it in Leopoldstadt

Yes, I think in the beginning it started with three digit phone numbers, and I heard rumors - only rumors - these 3 digit numbers do still exist nowadays in some very ... remote parts of Germany... But I think postal codes only came much later, like in the 50s or 60s. The street name is clear and it matches the latin "VII" for the 7th district, so probably house number 10 and then... maybe apartment no. 28 or whatever? It seems in those days there was still a chance that you got your valuable camera delivered home the next day by the finder when you had lost it in the tram or the subway.

 

[joeswe]

Nope. The address is pretty familiar to me, a friend had a studio in 10/27, one door adjacent in the same building complex (a mid 19th century complex of flats). It is the lane going along the back of the main museum and art school block in Vienna, by the way. Does not have shops, and does not look as if it once had either - the original seller probably was a photographer working out of a flat/loft studio.

These xx/yy numbers are common even today, Vienna has composite addressing, in particular for streets developed in the 19th or first half of the 20th century, with house/staircase (sometimes even triplicate, including /flat) numbers.

Great, that solves the mystery!

 

[jnoir]

Mysteries at RFF do not last long...

Very informative sevo, thank you very much !

 

[Krosya]

Great camera - my favorite folder after Welta Weltur 6x6:


welturs by krosyagms, on Flickr

 

[RedLion]

Beautiful cameras!

Thank you to everyone who helped me solve the mystery.

So my camera was originally owned by a woman back in the 1930's who lived in Vienna Austria at the address fo "Karl Schwelghoferg, 10/28" which was most likely an artist's flat or studio, located behind the museum / art school.

Very cool!

Joe

 

[RedLion]

A New clue!

A New clue!

On the back of the camera itself, there is this sticker which reads:

FOTO-SPEZIAL-GESCHAFT
SPORT-BERGER
Wein,16. LERCHENFELDERGURTEL 51
GEGR.1903 FERNRUF A-25-8-38

Any ideas?

Joe

 

[sevo]

On the back of the camera itself, there is this sticker which reads:

FOTO-SPEZIAL-GESCHAFT
SPORT-BERGER
Wein,16. LERCHENFELDERGURTEL 51
GEGR.1903 FERNRUF A-25-8-38

Any ideas?

That would be the camera shop (obviously the camera department of a sports store), about ten or twelve blocks away. Everything quite locally contained...