"Krone’s Historical Didactic Museum of Photography" (Historisches Lehrmuseum für Photographie) is a unique draft of a history of photography and its applications in the realms of everyday life, science and commerce in the 19th century. With his Lehrmuseum, Hermann Krone set out his own contribution to technical developments in the pictorial medium of photography in an illustrative and commemorative manner and in a form suitable for his didactic purposes." (1)

Thanks to his very long professional career of more than sixty years, Krone was able to report authentic experiences that he had already made at the very beginning of photography. He was one of the kind who actively influenced and accompanied the tremendously important second half of the 19th century. It was then that many different photographic processes and applications were developed in international exchange and competition. Krone's Historical Didactic Museum of Photography is the sum of all of his experience.

He created a teaching collection with illustrative examples, which was designated to give a systematic overview of the processes and fields of application of photography. At the same time, Krone is a historiographer of his own photographic practice. Thus, an individual outline of a history of photography was written.
At that time, further teaching and exemplary collections were compiled, which also contained photographic images. However, Krone's model is unique as it represents the special field of photography and photographic history.

The teaching collection in its known form was probably gathered after 1895. This was undertaken with regard to Krone's retirement in 1907 and the envisaged transfer of his donation to the Dresden Technical College (Technische Hochschule Dresden).

When the Didactic Museum was entrusted to the newly established Scientific-Photographic Institute at the Technical College (Wissenschaftlich-Photographisches Institut, Technische Hochschule) in Dresden in 1907, it consisted of 141 plates with approximately 1,100 images, twelve frames with Daguerreotypes, and approximately 600 negatives. This stock has been preserved almost entirely, despite or just because it fell into near oblivion for many decades.

The collection also survived the great bombing of the city of Dresden due to favourable circumstances. For many years the photographic chemist Irene Schmidt cared for the legacy and for the donation of Hermann Krone. In 1998 the results of a research project led by Wolfgang Hesse were introduced to the public in the form of a first large exhibition of Krone's work.

The images used were made between 1843 and 1898, with one photograph taken in the year 1907. The sequence of the teaching plates follows the temporal succession of the development of the positive and negative techniques in the 19th century and their practical applications. For the most part, Krone employed illustrative documents from his own practice, while sometimes he also chose images taken by other professional photographers. Moreover, the didactic collection also contains numerous examples of printing processes taken from technical journals.

A characteristic feature of Krone's work was his interest in the experiences his colleagues made around the world. For this purpose he thoroughly studied and analyzed the specialized literature of his times. By being a member of the Societé Française de Photographie, being a pupil of Gustave Le Gray, and having a studio in Paris for some time, he was able to follow the actual developments from various angles. In numerous publications he communicated his practical experience and theoretical considerations.

The entirety of these handed down aspects gives an idea of technical and cultural progress as it was understood in the 19th century. The associated implications are, however, not only limited to the past.

In many respects, the age of digitization and the ever faster increase of knowledge can be considered the result of the developments that started in the 19th century, with all its involved chances and dangers. Therefore, it is all the more worthwhile presenting Krone's main work, the Historical Didactic Museum of Photography as a valuable historical artifact and also as a compact model of history. It can unfold its didactic potential of a "history that is still alive", which is meant for a general public, and it can thus sharpen the consciousness for present processes. Thanks to the fact that it is built on few and easily comprehensible criteria, it can serve as an information source and an aid for getting into first contact with the history of photography and the media for a public that is not particularly well trained in this field.

"It is important that we once again become aware of the visual foundation of our modern society, which was made visible by photography." (2)

(1) Wolfgang Hesse, Reproducing the World, in: Hermann Krone. Historisches Lehrmuseum für Photographie. Hrsg. von Wolfgang Hesse, Dresden, Amsterdam 1998, p. 12
(2) Michel Frizot, Einführung, in: Neue Geschichte der Fotografie. Hrsg. von Michel Frizot, Köln 1998, p. 13