Israel Berendt Melchior (12 May 1827 – 7 September 1893) was a Danish engineer, manufacturer and amateur photographer. He is remembered in particular for the photographs he took of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

Career

Born on 12 May 1827, Melchior was educated as a civil engineer. In 1874, he bought the Valdemarshaab paper factory, just north of

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a p ...

, for 60,000 kroner after it had been declared bankrupt as a result of a flood in 1872. By 1875, he had completely renovated the plant and in addition had built ''Søvang'', a large, Italian-styled director's residence, adjacent to the factory. However, the factory was totally destroyed by fire in October of the same year and was never rebuilt. Melchior lived in the magnificent villa from 1875 to 1884 together with his wife (and cousin) Johanne Melchior (1848–1911) with whom he had four children. They were an extremely sociable couple who entertained frequently, sometimes arranging soirées and even short plays in their home."Fra direktørbolig til undervisningssted"
''Køge Archiverne''. . Retrieved 9 December 2010.

Amateur photographer

Melchior was a keen amateur photographer. When he built Søvang, he had the upper floor specially designed to accommodate a large photographic studio with an overhead window as well as a glass wall facing east. In particular, he photographed the annual family gatherings at Rolighed, the family mansion on

Østerbro Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clo ...

just outside

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. A number of artists and authors would also take part in the gatherings, the most famous being

who got to know the family in 1862 and was a frequent visitor until he died there in 1875. Melchior took a number of photographs of family groups together with Andersen from 1867, as well as some portraits."I Was Posing for The Photographer Today – Twenty Portraits of H.C. Andersen"
, ''Odense City Museums''. Retrieved 9 December 2010.

Gallery

File:Melchior family gathering with HCA at Rolighed 1867.jpg, Israel Melchior: Family gathering at Rolighed in 1867 with Hans Christian Andersen (third from left) File:HCA by I.B. Melchior 1867 2.jpg, Israel Melchior: Hans Christian Andersen, portrait at Rolighed (1867) File:Melchior Rolighed Østerbro c. 1867.jpg, Israel Melchior: Rolighed, Østerbro File:Melchior Family Group Rolighed c. 1867.jpg, Israel Melchior: Family group at Rolighed with Hans Christian Andersen and Moritz G. Melchior

References

External links

by Melchior {{DEFAULTSORT:Melchior, Israel Berendt 1827 births 1893 deaths Danish Jews 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Danish photographers Danish photographers Pioneers of photography Hans Christian Andersen Melchior family