GallerySorting through our shelves we came across this set of photographic "plates" — pictures printed on loose sheets, organized in a folder. Poor quality paper in post-war Germany, photographs reproduced in newsprint dots, we can only imagine the beauty of the original photographs, scenes of summer, and into fall, in Latvia.
We did find this sample online1:
A. Grapmanis photograph at the Lativan Museum of Photography
The photographs are attributed to A. Grapmanis. The Latvian Museum of Photography provides some biographical information:
Artūrs Grapmanis, a diaspora Latvian.
Born May 15, 1904, Rīga–died June 14, 1967, Sidney, Australia
By the wishes of his daughter, Ausma Krūmiņš, who was ill at the time, Artūrs Grapmanis's negatives were brought to Latvia prior to the Song Festival [year not mentioned] by [her husband] Inārs Krūmiņš. 50 years had passed before A. Grapmanis's negatives had reached Latvia to be donated to the Museum. As the story goes, the photographer would lie on the ground for hours at a time, watching the sky with his camera, until he encountered the optimal combination of clouds and light.2
The album was published by Jaunā Vārda Apgāds ("New Word Publishing"), which depending on source and year, was located first in Marbeck, Germany, then moving north, to Delmenhorst.
Album
Our restorations attempt to recapture the feel of Grapmanis' originals.
Click a thumbnail to view in gallery
Daugava — The Daugava
Ezermala — A Lake
Ganības — Pastures
Jūrmala — Seaside
Pērses ūdenskritums — Waterfall on the Pērse
Rīts — Morning
Rudens diena — Autumnal Day
Rudzu pļauja — Harvest Time
Saules riets — Sunset
Siena šķūnītis — A Little Barn in Meadows
| 1, | Information from the Photography Museum of Latvia Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ |
