Smile please! – Historical Photos of Innsbruck

How easy it is nowadays: we pull out our cell phone and in no time at all, a photo is taken, a short film is shot - and in no time at all, it's sent to friends, relatives and acquaintances via messenger service. The reason is usually trivial, be it a quick update on where we are or what we are doing.

In the days before cell phones and social media, people didn't take photos at random, but usually only on special occasions: on vacation, at family celebrations and the like. Even in the middle of the 20th century, few people owned a camera; people went to a photo studio to have important events captured.

The exhibition "Please smile!" at the Innsbruck City Museum takes us back to this time. Based on the archive of Michael „Much“ Heiss and his daughter Margarethe „Margit“ it traces the history of Tyrolean photography, provides insights into the changes in the medium, the development of the city and brings history to life. „Bitte lächeln!“ is a journey back in time - a large family album to marvel at and discover.

Michael „Much“ Heissa pioneer of landscape photography in the interwar period, founded the Alpinen Kunstverlag and used his plate camera to capture Tyrolean landscapes and historical events that went around the world. After the Second World War, his daughter Margarethe „Margit“ Heiss opened a portrait studio in Innsbruck Leopoldstraße and created countless portraits that captured the everyday life of the people of Innsbruck.

The exhibition, which is divided into two parts, offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in these two perspectives - quite a few of the photographs make you smile, show astonishing details and sharpen your eye for the photography of the time.

The negatives from the stock of „Foto Margit“ are carefully sorted into packs of 100, with around 25,000 surviving images. Only a few of them have suffered damage, while many of the glass plates from the collection at Much Heiss unfortunately show signs of damage.

Right at the beginning of the exhibition there is a small insight into the archiving of the documents, on the wall to the left of the entrance a series of postcards of different landscapes. Curious from today's perspective, but a big hit at the time: the series „Gämseneier“, in which chamois hatch from eggs.

Heiss also acted as a documentary photographer in the interwar period, recording major and minor events. For example, the ski jumping at Bergisel. When you consider that the jumpers flew past at almost 100 km/h and Heiss had to operate a heavy plate camera, you really realize what a masterpiece he was as an "action photographer". The exhibition organizers were unable to find out why the jumper in the photo is only wearing one ski.

You can also take a closer look at the „Mühlauer Villenpanorama“which Much Heiss documented in June 1906 from the highest building in the Saggen district. The old Hungerburgbahn was already in operation. Detailed captions help with the discovery. The outlines of the Jewish cemetery, the Dollinger inn, the bathhouse behind it, the sanatorium of the Sisters of Mercy, Mühlauer cemetery (which is always worth a visit, see my blog post here) can be recognized ... It's wonderful to immerse yourself in the views of Mühlau at that time - and to visualize the changes!

No less interesting is the equipment of the studio at Margit Oberhaidinger, as Margit Heiss was called when married. It met the requirements of a photo studio, providing the right backgrounds, furniture, props and accessories for various occasions. Group photos could be taken here as well as wedding photos or portraits.

Before moving on to the portrait gallery in the second room of the exhibition, reference is made to the political stance of Much Heiss during the Nazi era. For example, a picture from March 1938 shows 21-year-old Margit in festive clothing, with a swastika flag in the background - taken by Much Heiss. In one of his last pictures, he posed with NSDAP-Party badge - he died unexpectedly in 1940. As his daughter Margit had not yet reached the legal minimum age, she had to wait for an exemption before she could take over her father's business.

The portrait gallery is located in the second section of the exhibition. It is like a casket full of different photographs, a place of discovery and contemplation. Taking your time to study the faces, the fashions, the hairstyles, the "styles" - real fun that always makes you smile, if not laugh.

For example, when a robust man in his underpants proudly presents the tattoos on his thighs. Or when a lady turns towards the camera like a diva. Or when one of two boys in the photo looks as if he has just had his chocolate snatched out of his hand, while the other shows his nicest smile.

With family photographs in particular, it is often the small details that tell us a lot about the relationships within the family.

An almost inexhaustible gallery for explorers' eyes! And who knows, there might be one or two faces that look familiar.

„Bitte lächeln! Foto Margit und Much Heiss”

Exhibition at Stadtarchiv/Stadtmuseum Innsbruck until April 18, 2025

Badgasse 2, 6020 Innsbruck

Tel.: +43 512 5360 1400; e-mail: [email protected]

www.innsbruck.gv.at/stadtmuseum

Opening hours: Mon - Fri, 9 am - 5 pm; Saturday openings: February 15, March 15, April 12, 10 am - 6 pm

Curator tours on February 25, March 25, both at 6:30 pm; group tours on request

Photos, unless otherwise indicated: © Susanne Gurschler