Charles Bernhoeft

Vocation

Notable

Luxembourg photographer who took portraits of his country's Grand Ducal court as well as numerous landscapes which he turned into postcards. In 1895, together with the journalist Jean-Nicolas Moes, Bernhoeft launched Luxembourg's first illustrated weekly magazine, Das Luxemburger Land in Wort und Bild, which, however, could only publish nine issues. Bernhoeft's work did much to encourage tourism, which was just beginning to develop at the time. He not only published photographic albums documenting Luxembourg and its surroundings but also illustrated maps of the city and the Moselle Valley. His postcards were also popular with tourists. Bernhoeft was also successful as an inventor, developing systems providing indirect artificial lighting to facilitate portrait photography. He adapted the approach to magnesium flash photography, which proved particularly successful for photographing children, unable to keep still for very long. He patented the device as Bernhoeft's Blitzlichtapparat Sanssouci and succeeded in selling some 300 units. He died on 7 February 1933 in Beggen, aged 73. Link to Wikipedia biography