8 mystery photographs from 1908/1910. From within some kind of medical institution or sanitorium somewhere in Eastern Europe. There’s one small clue: The Trendelenburg Position. Maybe.

Th one small clue (the only one really) to the nature of these images is that (in the photograph above) the “patient” is lying in theTrendelenburg Position.

“…in which a patient is placed on a bed which is put into incline such that the patient’s head is lower than his feet”.

The position our man (above) in in is named after a German surgeon, Friedrich Trendelenburg. He was son of a philosopher named Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg, father of a pharmacologist named Paul Trendelenburg and grandfather of another pharmacologist named Ullrich Georg Trendelenburg.

So. Our man above is either in a hospital or sanitorium in theTrendelenburg Position or in theTrendelenburg Position as some kind of demonstration.

He is maybe ina hospital or sanitorium somewhere in Eastern Europe because these images are held at the Fortepan archives. The Fortepan archives are based in in Budapest, Hungary. Hence maybe somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Perhaps – since the images are composed so very clearly – these are most likely demonstrations, photographed to be used as medical teaching aids.

See also

The Art of Protest: Albert Hahn was righteous anger manifest. A graphic character assassin that even the mighty Germany Kaiser feared.

Obscurity

Perhaps.

Maybe.

They are wonderful in both their obscurity and oddness.