The archive of the Schmöltz photography studio is a location that stands out in the history of architecture and photography. It constitutes almost the complete legacy of the work and activity of the prominent Cologne photographers Hugo Schmölz (1879—1938) and Karl Hugo Schmölz (1917—1986). With their impressive architectonic shots and wide-ranging documentation of important construction projects in Cologne and the Rhineland, the two of them assume an influential role in regional photography history.
The archive comprises approximately 66,000 negatives and some 48,000 original prints, along with a detailed customer card index and record books. Besides architecture photography, which forms the main inventory, it contains expansive, previously largely unexplored bundles of industrial, portrait and commercial photography. Thus, the historical shots allow not only spatial, but also societal changes over the course of time to be tracked: Cologne in the Weimar Republic, the permeation by National Socialism of all sections of society, wartime devastation and reconstruction after 1945 through to the post-war modern era. Moreover, as one unique corpus, the holding illustrates the development and achievements of one of the region’s most influential photographic (family) businesses, which was also active cross-regionally and internationally. Since 2003, the archive of Fotowerkstätte Schmölz has been under the ownership of photographer Maurice Cox, who is its curator and administrator. It is among the most significant archives in NRW still to be in private hands.
The project partnership with the archive of Fotowerkstätte Schmölz is supported exclusively by the Dutch Embassy to strengthen artistic exchange between Germany and the Netherlands. For the collaboration with the archive of Fotowerkstätte Schmölz within the framework of Artist Meets Archive #5, we therefore invite artists who reside in the Netherlands, were born there, or hold Dutch citizenship.
Archiv der Fotowerkstätte Schmölz
Klingelpütz 29
50670 Köln
Website
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Tankstelle Ecke Oskar Jägerstraße bei Nacht, Juni 1952
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Blick in das Archiv der Fotowerkstätte Schmölz
© Maurice Cox, DGPh
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Hugo Schmölz, Heumarkt Köln, 1926
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Markthalle innen, Hochbauamt Köln, 1940
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Negativ 18 x 24 cm mit Neu-Coccin-Retusche
© Maurice Cox, DGPh
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Plattenkamera (18 x 24 cm) der Fotowerkstätte Schmölz
© Maurice Cox, DGPh
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Alter Markt mit zerstörtem Rathaus und Historischem Archiv, 1955
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Stahlrohrgerüst mit Personen, Gürzenich Köln, April 1950
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Hugo Schmölz, Weltausstellung Paris, August 1937
© Archiv Cox, Köln
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Karl Hugo Schmölz, Capitol-Theater, Dortmund, Januar 1950
© Archiv Cox, Köln
