Julius Gustav Neubronner (8 February 1852 – 17 April 1932) was a German
apothecary
''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...
, inventor, company founder, and a pioneer of amateur photography and film. He was part of a dynasty of apothecaries in Kronberg im Taunus. Neubronner was court apothecary to
Kaiserin Friedrich, invented the
pigeon photographer method for aerial photography, was one of the first film amateurs in Germany, and founded a factory for adhesive tapes. After his death, the company was directed for 70 years by his son Carl Neubronner (13 January 1896 – 19 November 1997).
Father and grandfather
The Neubronner family was resident in Kronberg as an apothecaries' family since Christian Neubronner had taken over a pharmacy there in 1808. In 1844 the pharmacy passed to his son Sohn Wilhelm Georg Neubronner (1813–1894), a longtime friend of painter
Anton Burger and father of Julius Neubronner. During the
Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
he directed the local militia. The wife of Wilhelm Neubronner and mother of Julius Neubronner came from the Löwe dynasty of actors, and her sister was the singer
Sophie Löwe
Johanna Sophie Christiane Löwe (24 March 1815 – 29 November 1866) was a German opera soprano, active mainly in Vienna and Berlin, and a Princess of Liechtenstein by marriage. She was one of the most famous German opera singers of her time.'' M ...
.
[
]
Adolescence
From adolescence, Julius Neubronner was a passionate amateur photographer. In 1865 he found a camera for the Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...
system which his father had built on his own shortly after the invention of photography. All experiments with the obsolete camera failed, and together with a friend the boy secretly bought another camera on credit.[Neubronner, Julius (1920), ''55 Jahre Liebhaberphotograph''.]
Neubronner initially received his education at home, together with two sisters. His godfather Julius Löwe operated a chemical laboratory in Frankfurt, and from 1864 the now twelve-year-old boy attended the Gymnasium in that city. After three years he changed to Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wester ...
, where he received the mittlere Reife
The Mittlere Reife (, lit. ''"Middle Maturity"'') is a school-leaving certificate in Germany that is usually awarded after ten years of schooling. It is roughly comparable with the British GCSE.
The official name varies between the federal stat ...
. After a year of apprenticeship in his father's pharmacy he attended the Royal Realgymnasium in Wiesbaden.[
He fulfilled his military duties at least partially in the ]Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...
.
In 1873 he finished his apprenticeship as apothecary's assistant in a pharmacy in Berlin, followed by three practical years in pharmacies in Bendorf
Bendorf () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Koblenz.
Structure of the town
The town consists of the following districts:
*Bendorf
*Sayn
*Mülhofen
*St ...
, Frankfurt, Hannoversch-Münden and Nyon
Nyon (; outdated German language, German: or ; outdated Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilomet ...
.[ In Nyon he got into contact with ]stereoscopy
Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
.[
From 1876, Neubronner studied pharmacy in ]Gießen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
, where he joined the ''Akademisch-Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein'' (now a Burschenschaft
A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence).
Burschenschaften were fo ...
).[''Verzeichniß der Mitglieder des acad.naturw. Vereins zu Giessen'', Nr. 46.] Shortly after his pharmaceutical examination in 1877, he began to study chemistry in 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 ...
in 1878, but soon switched to Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, where he received his doctorate in 1879.[Hans Jürgen Schultz: ''Apotheker, Erfinder und Fabrikant: Hofapotheker Dr. phil. Julius Neubronner (1852–1932)''. In: Gernot Schäfer und Rüdiger Fiedler (Hrsg.): ''125 Jahre Gießener Burschenschaft Frankonia 1872–1997''. Selbstverlag der Gießener Burschenschaft Frankonia, Gießen 1997. S. 101–104.][
]
Pharmacy and factory
In 1886,[ Julius Neubronner took over the pharmacy in Kronberg from his father. In 1887 he bought an important historical building known as Streitkirche ('dispute church'). Planned as a catholic church in the Protestant town of Kronberg, but never inaugurated, it had been the object of a notable conflict.][Chronik]
hofapothekekronberg.de. After the necessary modifications (the building had previously been used as an inn), family and pharmacy could move into the building in 1891.[
When Emperor Frederick III died in the ]Year of the Three Emperors
The Year of the Three Emperors, or the Year of the Three Kaisers (german: Dreikaiserjahr), refers to the year 1888 during the German Empire in History of Germany, German history.PikeTipton, p. 175.Nichols, p. 1.Berghahn, p. 282. The year is cons ...
1888 after only 99 days in office, his widow Victoria, Princess Royal
Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia as the wife of German Emperor Frederick III. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingd ...
, known in Germany as ''Kaiserin Friedrich'', had Schloss Friedrichshof
Schlosshotel Kronberg (Castle Hotel Kronberg) in Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, near Frankfurt am Main, was built between 1889 and 1893 for the dowager German Empress Victoria and originally named Schloss Friedrichshof in honour of her late hus ...
constructed as her new residence in the forest near Kronberg. Neubronner now obtained the rank of a court apothecary.[''Einblicke in das Leben der Kaiserin,'' Kronberger Bote 14/2001.]
Wilhelm Neubronner had used pigeon post
Pigeon post is the use of homing pigeons to carry messages. Pigeons are effective as messengers due to their natural homing abilities. The pigeons are transported to a destination in cages, where they are attached with messages, then the pigeo ...
for fast delivery of prescriptions, but had stopped the practice after a few years, when the neighbouring villages received their own pharmacies. Inspired by a newspaper report in 1902 that described a similar practice of an apothecary in Boston and showed a lack of awareness with his father's achievements, Julius Neubronner took up and expanded the practice. By pigeon post he obtained urgent chemicals up to from his wholesaler in Frankfurt and delivered urgent medication to the sanatorium in Falkenstein (Königstein im Taunus
Königstein im Taunus () is a health spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Owing to its advantageous location for both scenery and transport on the edg ...
)[ The notable sanatorium, founded in 1876 by Peter Dettweiler, was replaced by a recreation home for officers between 1907 und 1909.
Between 1903 and 1920 Neubronner recorded a number of amateur films which were restored by the Deutsches Filmmuseum between 1994 and 1996 and later published on ]YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.[Schobert, Walter (November 1996), ]
Early amateur films by Julius Neubronner: restored
'', Journal of Film Preservation 53, S. 47–48. The cumbersome process of gluing glass photographs for laterna magica presentations inspired him to invent a form of adhesive paper tape, which he patented. For production and marketing he founded the ''Fabrik für Trockenklebematerial'' in 1905. Under the name ''Neubronner GmbH & Co. KG'' it still exists and has around 80 employees.[
]
Private life and pigeon photography
In 1886, Julius Neubronner married Charlotte Stiebel (1865–1924).[ Her father Fritz Stiebel (1824–1902) was a well-known physician in Frankfurt.][ Her maternal grandfather was Jacques Reiss (1807–1887), patron and honorary citizen of Kronberg and main initiator of the Cronberger Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (Kronberg Railway Society).][''Stadt gedachte Geburtstag Neubronners,'' Kronberger Bote 3/2004.'']
Like his father, Julius Neubronner was a friend and sponsor of a Kronberg-based group of notable painters known as Kronberger Malerkolonie Kronberger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Carl Kronberger (1841–1921), Austrian painter
* Hans Kronberger (disambiguation), multiple people
* Lily Kronberger (1890–1974), Hungarian figure skater
* Maximilian Kronberger ...
, whose museum is now located on the first floor of his house. In 1907, he joined the Senckenberg Nature Research Society
The Senckenberg Nature Research Society (german: link=no, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, until 2008 ''Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft'') is a German scholarly society with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
Overview
...
In 1907, Neubronner submitted a patent for his invention of aerial photography by means of a pigeon photographer; he was granted the patent in 1908. The invention brought him international notability after he presented it to an interested audience at international expositions in Dresden, Frankfurt and Paris in 1909–1911. Spectators in Dresden could watch the arrival of the camera-equipped carrier pigeons
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selective breeding, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over e ...
, and the photos were immediately developed and turned into postcards which could be purchased.[ At the 1910 and 1911 ]Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
s he received two gold medals, for the method and for the photographs.[ The invention was tried out for military air surveillance in the First World War and later, but apart from honourable mentions in encyclopedias (]Meyers Konversations-Lexikon
' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '.
Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended t ...
, Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
The ''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie'' (German for ''Brockhaus Encyclopedia'') is a German-language encyclopedia which until 2009 was published by the F. A. Brockhaus printing house.
The first edition originated in the '' Conversations-Lexikon'' p ...
) it only caused him expenses.[
]
Successors
After Julius Neubronner's death in 1932, the pharmacy stayed in the Neubronner family for two more generations. First it was managed by Wilhelm Neubronner, who wrote a book about Ice stock sport
Ice stock sport (also known as ''"Icestocksport"'' or ''"Bavarian curling"'') is a winter sport, somewhat similar to curling. In German, it is known as Eisstockschießen. Although the sport is traditionally played on an ice surface, events are al ...
and was generally active in local and national sports.
With his death in 1972, his son Kurt-Heinz Neubronner took over the pharmacy, but in 1995 it was sold.[Kronberger Bote.]
The factory was taken over by Julius Neubronner's youngest son Carl Neubronner (13 January 1896 – 19 November 1997), who managed it for 70 years. In 1957 he received the Federal Cross of Merit
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
(1st class), in 1966 he made the staff share the company's profits, and he was active in an industry association.[
Carl Neubronner became known for his experiments with ]model aircraft
A model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models.
Aircraft manufactur ...
: At the age of 16 he developed the "Raketoplan
A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typicall ...
", a rocket-propelled model airplane, and the national rocket model aircraft club still awards an annual Carl Neubronner Prize.
In 1984 he became honorary citizen of Kronberg.
Since 1987 the Carl Neubronner Sports Foundation supports sports in Kronberg. Carl Neubronner was married to Erika Neubronner (1923–2005). In April 1997 they founded the socially oriented Carl and Erika Neubronner Foundation.
References
External links
Julius Neubronner films
on the European Film Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neubronner, Julius
1852 births
1932 deaths
20th-century German inventors
Aerial photographers
People from Kronberg im Taunus
People from the Duchy of Nassau