Reuß trivia

[joerookery]

The Princely family of Reuss had the strange custom of naming all its male members Heinrich, in honor of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI, from whom they recieved their lands in the 13th century. A complicated systems of numbering was developed into two different forms: the Elder line followed a sequence from 1 to 100 and then returned to 1.; the Younger line numbered as number 1 the first Heinrich to be born in the century and followed the sequence till the end of the century, and began again with the new century.

 

[b.loree]

Great Foto Joe. I had no idea that this tradition existed. Momma certainly does not look too thrilled with her new baby! Brian

 

[joerookery]

Momma certainly does not look too thrilled with her new baby!

This is part of what I call the unhappy spouse syndrome. In addition to being unremarkable many of these people seem to have been downright miserable.

 

[b.loree]

Hey Joey:
I believe that the key to this "unhappy look" lies in the fact that the so called blue bloods both then and now did not marry for love but for political connections and financial advantages. Love or even liking one another was secondary when it came down to what the marriage could do for the over all prestiege of the family or blood line. . This is common throughout History amongst this class of people. The only way publicly that the princess could display her unhappiness was through royal photographs. Brian

 

[joerookery]

That could be true. I have read this as well as the claims that it had to do with dental work -- bad teeth equals no smile. Many of the pictures of those who married for love also have this flat look. Here is Ruppecht's first wife

That seems to have changed a bit in the following decade when he married again.

 

[Gustaf]

Hey Joe,
I do not buy the dental excuse, as it is possible to smile with out showing the teeth, these women look truely pee-ed off.
Gus
Maggie pointed out that when one sat for a portrait in those days, one did not smile. It was a costly and intensive endevour, usually taking all day. I have never noticed any of my ancient relatives smiling in their photos taken at a similar time. And although I may be surprised, to the best of my knowledge, none of them are "Royal".
Maggie

 

[joerookery]

Some smiled but it was a minority.

Some were hopeless -- Maggie should enjoy this.

The Kaiser's sister. Married the seventh child of the Duke. Known as Moretta. Adolf and Moretta lived a quiet life. Adolf died in the middle of World War I in 1916. After the war and the fall of the German Empire, Moretta was allowed to live in Germany. In 1927, when she was 62, she met a young Russian refugee, Alexander Zoubkhoff, who was 27 years old. She married him in Novemeber of that year. Her family was shocked with the news of her marriage and they broke off realtions with her; she didn't care and she defended her marriage: " Nobody's consent -not even the Kaiser's- is required for my marriage. It is incorrect to say that he has refused consent as such step would be unnecessary, owing the fact that the Kaiser is not head of the Schaumburg Lippe family. In fact nobody's consent is required";. The marriage was a failure; two years later she began the divorce proceedings. Before the case came to court, Moretta died on November 13, 1929. Zoubkhoff was on his way to attend his wife's funeral when he was arrested for violating a law, expelling all Russains parvenu from German soil. He died in poverty in Luxembourg in 1936.

 

[Lost Skeleton]

In addition to the points expressed above, it should be remembered that photography in the late 19th and early 20th century was a slow laborious process and almost exclusively the métier of professionals. Exposure times in the studio could last up to a minute (or more), and live subjects often wore concealed head clamps and armatures to prohibit any movement.

A static smile would be nearly impossible to maintain for exposures of this duration

Portrait photography during this period was, like the painted portrait, iconic, and a toothy grin would be entirely inappropriate. Portraiture on coinage, currency, and medals is likewise expressionless. It is truly a case of function dictating form.

Chas.

 

[911car]

I totally agree with Maggie, Gus and Chas. Look at the adorable lady Joe recently spotted in his post "Yes, I love you too" in Period Photographs. We are now accustomed to these mandatory, unnatural "cheese" smiles on all pictures but it used to be different. I remember many photographs from my grand- or great grand parents back in the first half of the 20th century: they just wouldn't smile. At the most, an enigmatic Joconde-style grin was considered to be the sexiest face expression...
Bruno

 

[zipperheads9]

maybe , the looking or concentrating the look for the cmaera caused some of the pictures to be "unconforting" . I have also read that it was unfitting for people of roaylty to smile , for public.
The Queen Mother , the wife of George the Vith , was the first royal to smile and appear to enjoy public life.
Mark