Biographical Note
Currently, approximately 20,000 photographs taken by the Königliche Preussische Messbildanstalt are held by the Messbildarchiv of the Brandenburgischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege und Archäologischen Landesmuseums (Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and State Archaeological Museum).
The Königliche Preussische Messbildanstalt is also known as the Messbild-Anstalt, the Royal Prussian Photogrammetric Institute, and the Königlich Preussische Messbildanstalt. It was originally spelled in German as "Königliche Preussische Messbildanstalt," however recent publications drop the first 'e' and use "Königlich Preussische Messbildanstalt." The Institute was created in 1885 as part of the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Prussia. Albrecht Meydenbauer (1834-1921) was the founding director and continued in that role until 1909. Trained as a civil engineer and surveyor, Meydenbauer began to work on photogrammetric documentation in 1858 after he almost fell while working high up in a cathedral and taking measurements by hand. Over the next 25 years, he developed specialized cameras and accurate measurement procedures and coined the term "photogrammetry." His campaign for the use of photogrammetric images as a valuable tool for architectural studies and historic preservation resulted in the Institute's documentation of more than 2,600 sites and the sale of prints to other institutions.
In 1921, the Institute was closed, and the program was transferred to the newly created Staatliche Bildstelle Berlin (State Image Office Berlin). At that time, the collection included over 21,000 measurement photographs, predominantly as 40 cm x 40 cm (close to 16 x 16 inch) glass plate negatives. The Staatliche Bildstelle Berlin continued to sell prints from the negatives but documented few historic buildings.
At the end of World War II, Soviet troops took the photo collection to Moscow. In 1958, the negatives were sent to the German Democratic Republic, and they were in several repositories before becoming part of the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation in 1991. Today, the collection is held by the Messbildarchiv of the Brandenburgischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege und Archäologischen Landesmuseums (Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation and State Archaeological Museum).