Edgar Hanfstaengl (15 July 1842, in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
– 28 May 1910, in Munich) was a chief clerk, commercial purchaser and art publisher. He was significantly the son of a famous Bavarian court photographer who was connected with the circle of
Ludwig II
Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
and became a close confidant of
Duchess Sophie in Bavaria. He was also the father of the political figure
Ernst Hanfstaengl
Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl (; 2 February 1887 – 6 November 1975) was a German-American businessman and close friend of Adolf Hitler. He eventually fell out of favour with Hitler and defected from Nazi Germany to the United States. He lat ...
.
Origins and young life
Edgar Hanfstaengl was born in Munich, the son of the photographer
Franz Hanfstaengl
Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl (1 March 1804, in near Bad Tölz – 18 April 1877, in Munich) was a Bavarian painter, lithographer, and photographer.
Life
Hanfstaengl originated from a commoner family and in 1816 came on the recommendation of the ...
(1804–1877) and his first wife Franziska Wegmeier (1809–1860). Edgar completed a training as commercial purchaser in
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
and with a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
wholesaler. At the beginning of the 1860s Edgar set out for
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, to work as financial clerk to the Clark Tea Wholesaler's Company. In 1867 he returned to Munich to his father's Art business, where he was put to work as head clerk. In the same year he embarked upon a love-affair with the fiancée of
Ludwig II
Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
of Bavaria,
Duchess Sophie in Bavaria. On 12 November 1868 Edgar took over the photographic workshop and expanded the business to the Franz Hanfstaengl Art Publishing House.
Bavarian intrigue
The engagement between Duchess Sophie and King Ludwig II was arranged at the behest of her father
Duke Max Josef, even though the King, considering his own distinctly homosexual character, was concerned that she would not be happy in the union. The engagement was agreed upon on 22 January 1867. Three days later Sophie met Edgar in his father's photographic studio, where he had recently arrived as senior clerk after his travels abroad. Possibly they had known each other since childhood, when Franz Hanfstaengl was a readily welcomed guest in the artistic circle of Duke Max.
The many photographs of the royal bride which then had to be prepared, and additional work which brought Edgar regularly to
Possenhofen Castle
Possenhofen Castle (german: Schloss Possenhofen) is located in the town of Possenhofen on the western shore of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.
History
The castle was built in 1536 by Jakob Rosenbusch, was destroyed during the Thirty Years' ...
, brought them more closely together and they fell in love. Their meetings, attended by the utmost secrecy, occurred in the
Pähl Castle, the Palace in Munich, and even at Possenhofen. Five love-letters, which Sophie Charlotte wrote to Edgar Hanfstaengl between July and September 1867, have been preserved. After repeating postponements, the wedding was called off by Ludwig II in October.
Later life
Edgar was not able to make up his mind to marry, until 1882. Edgar's wife, the
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
-born Katharina Wilhelmina Heine (1859–1945), was the daughter of American
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Wilhelm Heine
Peter Bernhard Wilhelm Heine, better known as Wilhelm (or William) Heine (January 30, 1827 in Dresden – October 5, 1885 in Lößnitz near Dresden) was a German-American artist, world traveller and writer as well as an officer during the Amer ...
and his spouse
Katherine Whetton Sedgwick (
Albany/
N.Y.1824-Berlin 1859) and related to
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
(1861-1865) general
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a military officer and Union Army general during the American Civil War.
He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsuccessful assault against C ...
(1813-1864).
The couple had 5 children: Edgar (1883–1958), Egon (1884–1915),
Erna (1885–1981),
Ernst ("Putzi") (1887–1975) and Erwin (1888–1914). The eldest son Edgar from 1907 took control of his father's Art business. Edgar's only daughter Erna found, after her father's death, an envelope with the hand-written endorsement by her father: "Letters of Princess Sophie Charlotte - burn these unread. Edgar." Erna did not carry out her father's wishes, but instead handed over the letters in February 1980 to the author
Heinz Gebhardt, in order 'once (for all) to set the record straight' and he published details of the affair with excerpts from the correspondence in his history of the Hanfstaengel family business.
[Heinz Gebhardt: ''Franz Hanfstaengel von der Lithographie zur Photographie'' (München, 1984: Verlag C.H. Beck), pages 201-206.]
Edgar Hanfstaengl, Sophie's "dear, beloved friend", died on 28 May 1910. He was buried in the old Munich south cemetery in the Hanfstaengl family plot.
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanfstaengl, Edgar
1842 births
1910 deaths
German publishers (people)
Businesspeople from Munich
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria