Christian Hedemann
Encyclopedia
Christian Jacob Hedemann (1852–1932) was a Danish
mechanical engineer who settled in Hawaii
in 1878 where he worked at the Hana Sugar Plantation and the Honolulu Iron Works. He is however remembered primarily as an avid amateur photographer who helped found the Hawaiian Camera Club (1889–1893). His photographs of native peoples, landscape, family, and industry offer a unique pictorial record of Hawaii at the end of the 19th century.
in Schleswig-Holstein
which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Denmark. He was the son of Christian August Ferdinand Hedemann, an eminent surgeon in the Danish army, and Caroline Amalie Cloos. After attending primary school in Næstved, he continued his education at Herlufsholm School and graduated with first class honours in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic College
in Copenhagen
. After an apprenticeship in a machine shop, he was employed as a designer by Burmeister & Wain
in Copenhagen
(1874-78). In October 1877, he married Meta Marie Magdalena Nissen.
. But instead of returning to Denmark at the end of his contract, in 1884 he joined the Honolulu Iron Works, Hawaii's largest manufacturer of sugar mill machinery. Initially a draftsman, he ultimately became the company's technical director.
In 1903, he obtained American citizenship and, in 1909, was appointed Danish consul. In March 1917, he was decorated as a knight of the Order of Dannebrog.
in 1873 where many exhibits featured photography. Before leaving for Hawaii he acquired a camera of his own and learnt the art of making images on glass plate negatives, using the wet plate collodion process
. The first dated photograph is a view of his house with a Danish flag taken in Hana on 1 February 1880. It was followed by informal portraits of his growing family and home, as well as of the sugar mill, co-workers and friends. In 1883, he converted his carriage shed into a studio with removable roof sections to improve the light. This allowed him to take portraits not only of the native inhabitants, which proved invaluable to ethnic studies, but also of Chinese and Portuguese workers and a small colony of Scandinavians.
The photographs of his wife and seven children show how Danish traditions were maintained, for example in the children's clothing, while his photographs of the mills document the industrial evolution of the islands. Some of these were presented at the Hawaiian Government Exhibit at the Paris Exposition of 1889
, demonstrating not only the progress of the plant, but also the industrial transformation of Hawaii. In January 1889, Hedemann was one of the founding members and the first president of the Hawaiian Camera Club which brought amateur photographers from Honolulu together with those he had met during his travels around the islands. The club gave Hedemann the opportunity to follow and experiment with the latest techniques such as magnesium powder
flash photography and photographic enlargements as well as the use of the so-called magic lantern
. In 1992, when he first returned to Denmark, Hedemann took his lantern slide projector with him in order to show his new home to his family and friends.
Hedemann died in Honolulu in 1932 leaving a collection of photographs which provide a record not only of his close-knit family and his faith in the industrial age but also of the islands themselves at the end of the 19th century.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
mechanical engineer who settled in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in 1878 where he worked at the Hana Sugar Plantation and the Honolulu Iron Works. He is however remembered primarily as an avid amateur photographer who helped found the Hawaiian Camera Club (1889–1893). His photographs of native peoples, landscape, family, and industry offer a unique pictorial record of Hawaii at the end of the 19th century.
Early life
Christian Hedemann was born in 1852 at FlensburgFlensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Denmark. He was the son of Christian August Ferdinand Hedemann, an eminent surgeon in the Danish army, and Caroline Amalie Cloos. After attending primary school in Næstved, he continued his education at Herlufsholm School and graduated with first class honours in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic College
Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. After an apprenticeship in a machine shop, he was employed as a designer by Burmeister & Wain
MAN B&W Diesel
MAN Diesel SE was a provider of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications. MAN Diesel employs over 7,700 staff, primarily in Germany, Denmark, France, the Czech Republic, India and China...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(1874-78). In October 1877, he married Meta Marie Magdalena Nissen.
Professional life in Hawaii
He arrived in Honolulu with his family in 1878 where, at the age of 25, he became chief engineer on a three-year contract at the Hana Sugar Plantation on the island of MauiMaui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. But instead of returning to Denmark at the end of his contract, in 1884 he joined the Honolulu Iron Works, Hawaii's largest manufacturer of sugar mill machinery. Initially a draftsman, he ultimately became the company's technical director.
In 1903, he obtained American citizenship and, in 1909, was appointed Danish consul. In March 1917, he was decorated as a knight of the Order of Dannebrog.
Tha amateur photographer
Hedemann had taken a great interest in photography ever since he visited the World Exposition in ViennaWeltausstellung 1873 Wien
]The Weltausstellung 1873 Wien was the large World exposition was held in 1873 in the Austria–Hungarian capital of Vienna. Its motto was Kultur und Erziehung ....
in 1873 where many exhibits featured photography. Before leaving for Hawaii he acquired a camera of his own and learnt the art of making images on glass plate negatives, using the wet plate collodion process
Collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
. The first dated photograph is a view of his house with a Danish flag taken in Hana on 1 February 1880. It was followed by informal portraits of his growing family and home, as well as of the sugar mill, co-workers and friends. In 1883, he converted his carriage shed into a studio with removable roof sections to improve the light. This allowed him to take portraits not only of the native inhabitants, which proved invaluable to ethnic studies, but also of Chinese and Portuguese workers and a small colony of Scandinavians.
The photographs of his wife and seven children show how Danish traditions were maintained, for example in the children's clothing, while his photographs of the mills document the industrial evolution of the islands. Some of these were presented at the Hawaiian Government Exhibit at the Paris Exposition of 1889
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...
, demonstrating not only the progress of the plant, but also the industrial transformation of Hawaii. In January 1889, Hedemann was one of the founding members and the first president of the Hawaiian Camera Club which brought amateur photographers from Honolulu together with those he had met during his travels around the islands. The club gave Hedemann the opportunity to follow and experiment with the latest techniques such as magnesium powder
Flash powder
Flash powder is a pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel, which burns quickly and if confined produces a loud report. It is widely used in theatrical pyrotechnics and fireworks and was once used for flashes in photography.Different varieties of flash powder are made from...
flash photography and photographic enlargements as well as the use of the so-called magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
. In 1992, when he first returned to Denmark, Hedemann took his lantern slide projector with him in order to show his new home to his family and friends.
Hedemann died in Honolulu in 1932 leaving a collection of photographs which provide a record not only of his close-knit family and his faith in the industrial age but also of the islands themselves at the end of the 19th century.
Further reading
- Lynn Ann Davis with Nelson Foster, "A photographer in the kingdom : Christian J. Hedemann's early images of Hawai'i", Honolulu, Hawai'i: Bishop Museum Press, 1988, 194 pages, many vintage photographs. ISBN 0930897366 and (paperback) ISBN 0930897374.