Emil Vieler (1851-1912)

Emil Vieler was a German-born photographer who established a photography studio in Huddersfield in the mid-1870s.

Biography

He was born in Iserlohn, Westphalia, Germany, on 19 February 1851, the son of merchant Carl Peter Ludwig Vieler and his wife Wilhelmina Brauckhagen. The family emigrated to England circa 1861 and settled in Bradford, where Carl found employment as a "foreign produce merchant."[1]

Both Emil and his younger brother Rudolph served apprenticeships with Bradford photographer Albert Sachs.

He married Sarah Russell in 1874 and settled in Huddersfield the following year, where Emil occupied a photography studio on the corner of King Street and Zetland Street (likely previously the studio of Joe Middleton). The couple had five known children:

  • Beatrice Gertrude Louise Vieler (1874-?)
  • Francis Victor Vieler (1877-1877)
  • Herbert Charles Vieler (1878-1950)
  • Florence Isabel Vieler (1880-1961)
  • Ada Beatrice "Bertha" Vieler (1882-1968)

The 1881 Census listed the family living above the studio on King Street. By 1891, they were residing 6 South Parade.

In January 1888, the Huddersfield Chronicle reported that the East and South Wards Conservative Club of Huddersfield had commissioned Emil Vieler to produce a portrait of "their worthy and esteemed treasurer, Mr. Poppleton." It was noted that "the portrait is a very good one".[2]

The Chronicle reported that members of the Queen Street Chapel had presented the Rev. G. E. Kennaugh with an oak-framed photograph showing a "group of six of the leading men of the mission, taken by Mr. E. Vieler, of South Parade."[3]

In 1892, he relocated to Bexhill-on-Sea, joining his brother Rudolph on the south coast.[4]

Sarah Vieler died on 1 January 1907.

Emil Vieler died of heart failure on 16 December 1912, aged 61, at his residence "Rembrandt House", Station Road, Bexhill-on-Sea.

The local newspaper reported his death, calling him one of the town's "most respected residents."[5]

Herbert Charles Vieler continued his father's business, becoming a well-known photographer in the Bexhill area.

Gallery

    Loading... ::::::omeka tag Emil Vieler (1851-1912):::

Notes and References

  1. Sussex PhotoHistory: Emil Vieler and Herbert Vieler.
  2. "East and South Wards Conservative Club" in Huddersfield Chronicle (14/Jan/1888).
  3. "Presentations to the Rev. G. E. Kennaugh" in Huddersfield Chronicle (22/Aug/1891).
  4. From newspaper articles, the move to Bexhill took place at some point between August 1891 and August 1892.
  5. "Death of Mr. Emil Vieler" in Bexhill-on-Sea Observer (21/Dec/1912).