Joint Project
	Lothar BRASSE  -  Janis HAYNES Prussian design & build connects with genealogy

 

 

To return to:  Lothar BRASSE Summary

The house that Johann Christian LIEBELT & Maria Elizabeth KUCHEL built, 106 Main St, Hahndorf

Summary

There is only one photograph available of this home in the main street of Hahndorf, the second 1839 house block as you enter the town from Verdun.  The following documentation comes from Lothar BRASSE's measurements & drawings based on this one photograph as well as the genealogy & other references drawn on to enable comparisons of technique & engineering that might attribute this pit sawn red gum half-timbered structure to be that of master carpenter Johann Carl Friedrich FAEHRMANN [1823-1896] of Tangermünde, Prussia.

Table of Contents

1.  The one photo as described by Art Lab, SA, 2021.

Art Lab of South Australia

Framed Hand-coloured Photograph CN:65567

 The framed hand coloured photograph has a handwritten inscription on the backboard 

‘Liebelts Old House Main St – demolished’ and accession number HA2007.050. 

The photograph depicts a family of adults and children on a cart in front of a house in a large garden setting. The photographic image is very light and can really only just be detected in the people’s faces. The photograph is entirely hand-coloured with predominately blues, greens and greys. The photograph is adhered to a backing board which shows the working colour palate of the artist. The work is framed in a wooden frame with gold spacers, glass and a backboard. 

The work is has been mould affected, particularly in the lower half. The backboard of the frame was stained, weakened and with dry mould throughout and once the text was removed, has been discarded for health reasons. The back of the photograph secondary support is also mould affected but to a lesser extent. The dry mould has been superficially removed, again for health reasons. The board is slightly buckled. The image surface also has dry mould on the lower half which has been reduced. The colour was quite stable with this initial surface clean, however it is evident that it was quite mottled under the mould and it is unknown whether this was artist intention or mould affected. The emulsion is weak in small spots in this area and there is some colour loss. 

The frame is stable and the glass in excellent condition. The lower spacer has some pigment from the photograph colourant on it and has a slight colour shift possibly due to water damage. 

Treatment proposal 

• The work has been deframed and lightly surface cleaned. A more thorough surface clean will completed to ensure the mould is reduced and denatured on both sides of the item. 
• The small loss will be inpainted. The mottling in the lower half of the image will not be addressed at this stage. 
• The frame, glass and spacers will be thoroughly cleaned to remove mould spores. 
• The spacer will be retouched in the damaged area to reduce the discolouring. 
• The handwritten label will be encapsulated and attached to the back of the frame. 
• The work will be reframed with a new matboard backboard. 

The total cost of treatment and materials is $759.00 including GST.