Date of use : 1956 Switzerland

Photohaus Hagenbach Business Stationery

This postal card sent from the city of Bern provides an informative example of the relationship between photographic commerce and the postal system in Switzerland. The printed heading on the left side clearly identifies the sender as Photohaus Hagenbach, a photographic business operating in Bern. The printed address indicates the company's main location at Waisenhausplatz 4 while also listing a branch and laboratory building situated in the Kirchenfeld district at Thunstrasse 23. The presence of telephone numbers on the printed heading suggests that the business functioned not only as a photographic studio but also as a commercial enterprise offering a range of photographic services.

Photohaus Hagenbach was most likely one of the established photographic retailers operating in Bern during the mid-twentieth century. In Switzerland, photographic shops typically served multiple roles within the photographic economy. They often combined retail sales of cameras and photographic materials with professional services such as film development, photographic printing, and technical consultation. The reference to a laboratory building on the printed heading indicates that the Hagenbach business possessed the technical infrastructure required to process photographic films and produce photographic prints within its own facilities.

The recipient of the card is identified as Gottfried Frei, located in the city of Winterthur in Switzerland. The address includes the name "Nadar," which may refer to the name of a photographic studio or business. The name Nadar had become widely associated with portrait photography and was occasionally adopted by photographic studios as a commercial name. This suggests that Gottfried Frei may have been a photographer or an individual connected with a photographic business operating in Winterthur.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
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