Read German?

[TedH]

At the family gathering today, we got to see some long lost photos of ancestors that were recently rediscovered in an old trunk. This one is my Great Grandfather, taken in Berlin shortly before he left Germany for the US. We guessed it must have been about 1860 or so. Would be nice to know what the back of the photo read. Also, it looked like it may be some sort of Military uniform he was wearing? Any info on that would be appreciated too if you recognize it.

[Mescalero]

It was taken at a photography studio.
At Marten Street and the Marschaus Bridge
Near the Lingen.
This plate is on file.
The handwriting at the top is hard for me but the first name is Frank

The description sounds vague and foriegn to us, but at the time it would have been an adequete description.

[TedH]

Excellent. Thank you!

[Mescalero]

You are most welcome.

[TedH]

I don't believe there is a question that could be asked here that someone wouldn't have an answer for. Wide knowledge base here, and folks willing to help.

[Mescalero]

Not bad for a mescalero, huh?

[Blaine]

I can read and write every language except Greek

[20cows]

Not bad for a mescalero, huh?

Sehr gut, mein Freund!

[Mescalero]

Da schau an.

[Buck Elliott]

The handwriting is definitely NOT period German.. Appears to be very American..
"Frank Hanbach Sr."

Address is: 36 Luise Street
Court Left (office)
Between (the) Marien Street and (the) Marschalls Bridge
(Near the Lindens)

The Plates remain protected property (of the photographer...)

be aware that transliteral translation is often problematic, due to idiomatic differences. Names and places are fairly simple, but text or conversation can be a lot harder..

[kaschi]

TedH: I am a German teacher as is my wife (who was born in "West" Berlin and raised in "West" Germany). Her parents were refugees from East Berlin in the 1950's before the Wall was built in 1961. We added a little to Mescalero's translation for you. Here it is. Left side is the German from top to bottom, right side is the English translation for each line (unless a translation is not necessary)

First, as Mascalero indicated, the handwritten first name is Frank. The last name appears to be roughly Harbach followed by Sr. meaning "Senior". Is this your great grandfather's name? How is it properly spelled?

H. Bunzel name of the photographer
Berlin
Louisen-Strasse 36 36 Louisen Street
Hof links Parterre In the courtyard on the ground floor (indicates location of, and entry to the photography studio)
zwischen der Marienstrasse u.d. Marschallsbrücke between Marien Street and the Marschall(s) bridge (u.d.=und der)
nahe den Linden near "den Linden" (probably short for "Unter den Linden" which is a famous street in Berlin)
Die Platte bleibt zu Nachbestellung aufbewahrt The plate remains on file for reordering

"Linden" in German means and indicates linden trees, not lingen. We were wondering why it did not say "nahe Unter den Linden" instead of simply "nahe den Linden". One reason could be as follows: Since "Unter" is not used in the phrase on the back of your photo, it may indicate that the location of the studio is simply near linden trees using them (the trees) as a reference point. But, it PROBABLY means "Unter den Linden" in reference to that famous street mentioned above. You may recall seeing the events on TV on 09 November 1989 at the Berlin Wall showing the Brandenburg Gate? Unter den Linden is the street in (East Berlin) which leads directly away from the Wall starting at the Brandenburg Gate.

I'll look on a Berlin city map to see if I can find the streets and the bridge mentioned on the photo. If they are near the street named Unter den Linden, then we'll know for sure that the studio was in that vicinity.

Hope this helped clarify some things for you.

[Mescalero]

kaschi,
Thanks

[TedH]

kaschi,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. The last name is Hambach. I believe there is a Hambach Castle somewhere in the German countryside that a couple of my Aunts have actually visited though I don't know the exact location. I would like to make it there someday myself. In the old trunk, we also found this card from Great Grandpa Frank's funeral. There is no birth date on it, but they think he was born around 1840.