To My Dear Two: Schmetterling Family, Lemberg / Lwow / Lviv, Ukraine, 1918
Schmetterling Family: Lost...and Found?
Four individuals—an older bearded gentleman, two younger men, and a woman—sit for a photograph bound for the front of a postcard. I found the card among treasures in a box of unsorted ephemera at a consignment market in New York. The item is a cabinet card, a wildly popular style of 19th-century photography consisting of a photographic print mounted on a piece of thick, sturdy cardboard. Measuring roughly 4.25 by 6.5 inches, these cards were larger and more substantial than earlier formats, designed specifically to be displayed in living room cabinets or on parlor tables.
A scrawled inscription on the back reads, Meine lieben Zween Andenken senden, translating roughly to "Sending greetings/remembrances to my dear two," likely relatives in Biberach, Germany. Signed clearly: Leon Schmetterling, Lemberg, 4/3 1918 (March 4, 1918). This particular card is a wartime keepsake sent by Galician Jews to family in Germany amid the collapse of World War I. Cabinet cards were less common by 1918, meaning this format was likely an older style used by a local provincial studio.
Throughout my research into this card, I found the front seems to feature the Schmetterlings, a German/Austrian Jewish family living through the intense wartime climate of Western Ukraine in the final months of World War I. At that time, Lemberg was the administrative center of the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. The year 1918 marked the end of World War I and the chaotic fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leading to intense local conflicts over Lemberg between Poles and Ukrainians throughout a period of immense geopolitical tension and suffering.
I am currently tracing the roots of the family featured here to reunite this card with living decendants, and in a way, bring these particular Schmetterlings home.
Finding Family in the Cards
Cabinet cards bearing studio imprints from this period—especially those transitioning through the final months of World War I—frequently serve as vital physical artifacts for tracing family networks, finding ancient local businesses, and documenting the development of underground political groups across the region. The combination of names, locations, and date on cards like this one provides a targeted pathway for genealogical research using military records, Austro-Hungarian vital statistics, and German emigration lists.
The Family Name: Schmetterling
Schmetterling Printing Studio at 366 Grand Street, Manhattan, 1940's
The surname Schmetterling: (German for “butterfly”) was a documented Jewish family name in the Galicia region, particularly around Lwów and nearby Tarnopol. Fascinatingly, regional records preserve information on a Leopold Leon Schmetterling, born in Vienna on January 5, 1901. He later moved back east, lived in Tarnopol (just east of Lwów), and officially took Polish citizenship in 1938. Having survived the Holocaust, he died in Vienna in 1973. Given the timeframe—he would have been roughly 17 years old in 1918—and the exact name match, “Leon Schmetterling,” he is an incredibly strong candidate to be either the subject of the photo or a direct relative of the sender.
- Other Branches: Historical marriage and family trees point to other Schmetterlings from the area, such as a Leon Schmetterling who married a woman named Leah Sperber around this era. A possible relative in America is Max Schmetterling, a historical New York City printer and publisher active in Manhattan at his 366 Grand Street—and later at 42 Bond Street—printing studio during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For a detailed picture of the theater publishing environment at the time, review this dissertation by Vicki L. Hoskins, University of Pittsburgh, 2020.
- Side Note: It was in this 366 Grand Street office that Max Mansfield, a well-known New York theatrical agent, manager, and printer, in a riches-to-rags scenerio, committed suicide in a rented portion of the studio. At one time one of the most influential figures of the Vienna Theater in New York, he pawned the last of his clothing and paid the final month's rent to his landlady. Having carefully planned his death since the collapse of his newspaper the previous December, Mansfield finally turned on the gas valves in his room to end his life. His obituary is here.
The Photographer: "Carmen" Studio
The specific location data and precise date connect the cabinet card directly to an exact building, its historical inhabitants, and a pivotal moment in the final months of World War I.
The Location: Atelier Carmen was a popular commercial photography studio operating in Lwów during the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century. Studios in Lwów like Carmen frequently produced both Cartes de Visite (CdV) and cabinet cards for local families, including the city's large, vibrant Jewish middle class.
The Style: The fact that they were still utilizing a classic cabinet card format in 1918 aligns with wartime shortages or an preference for traditional, durable photographic backings used to mail tokens of affection long distances.
The Location: Karola Ludwika 33
- Source: Discovered in a consignment shop bin, mixed among unsorted paper ephemera.
- Item: An early 20th-century cabinet card photograph (approximately 6.5 x 4.25 inches) featuring a formal group portrait, mounted on dark cardstock.
- Condition: The photograph itself is in good, clear condition. The mount shows moderate wear: bumped corners, light edge fraying, and surface discoloration. The verso exhibits medium wear and foxing (age spots).
- Photographic Subject (Recto): Four individuals—an older bearded gentleman, two younger men, and a woman—pose formally around a small parlor table, dressed in Edwardian-era attire (c. 1905-1915).
- Textual Clues (Recto): Below the photograph, a printed or hand-lettered inscription reads: "we are safe".
- Publisher / Printer Mark (Verso, left margin): Vertically along the left edge is a printer/distributor mark: "CARMEN Luwow, Karola Ludwika 33." This is a vital clue, placing the production of the card in the city of Lemberg (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Lviv, Ukraine) at a specific address. That inscription points directly to Carmen, a photographic studio operating in Lwów (historically known as Lemberg during the Austro-Hungarian period, now part of Ukraine).
The physical street address of the studio located on Karola Ludwika (a street named in honor of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria). During the era when this card was printed, street numbers and names in the city shifted under changing administrations, placing this establishment right in the urban core of Lemberg's bustling photographic district. - Handwritten Correspondence (Verso): The back is covered in extensive German script in dark ink.
- Left Column:"Meine lieben Zween Andenken senden," translating roughly to "Sending greetings/remembrances to my dear two", likely relatives in Biberach, Germany.Signed clearly with the surname: Leon Schmetterling.
- Location & Date: Below the signature is a specific location and date: "Lemberg, 4/3 1918" (March 4, 1918).
- Right Column (Address): Addressed to "An Herrn Franz ..." (surname unclear) and destination "Biberach" (likely Biberach an der Riß, Germany).
- Reframing the Narrative: The information on the back completely alters the context. This is not merely a studio portrait with a poignant caption; it is a piece of wartime correspondence sent from Lemberg during the final months of World War I.
- Connecting the Family: The sender is "Leon Schmetterling," establishing the surname. The inscription takes on profound meaning when understood as a message sent from the Galician front during wartime privations; the brief expression is one of friendship or family, and perhaps relays confirmation of safety and survival in a crtitically dangerous place and time in the War.
- Geographical & Historical Context: Lemberg in 1918 was a critical city, the administrative center of the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and a site of immense sociopolitical tension and suffering. A message of reassurance sent from this location in 1918 is a powerful primary document.
- Genealogical Path: This combination of names, locations, and date provides a targeted pathway for genealogical research using military records, Austro-Hungarian vital statistics, and German emigration lists. Cabinet cards bearing studio imprints from this period—especially those transitioning through the final months of World War I frequently serve as vital physical artifacts for tracing local portraiture businesses and family networks across the region.
- Physical Housing: The card is fragile, with moderate wear and foxing.
- Immediate Action: Isolate the card from acidic materials using a clean, dry, archival-grade polyester (Mylar/Melinex) sleeve.
- Long-term Storage: Store the sleeved card within an acid-free, lignin-free archival document box in a climate-controlled environment (stable temperature and low humidity) to prevent mold and further deterioration.
- Handling: Handle the card only by its edges with clean, dry hands or archival gloves to protect the delicate surface and foxed verso.
- Digital Capture & Metadata:
- High-Resolution Scanning: Both recto and verso digitized at a minimum of 600 PPI on a flatbed scanner to capture surface texture, inscriptions, studio marks, and handwriting.
- Metadata Integration: Create a comprehensive record including full transcription and translation of the German script, publisher details, inscription text, and provenance notes to permanently secure its historical value.
Svobody Avenue, Lviv, Ukraine
Karola Ludwika (Karl-Ludwig-Straße) was Lwów’s premier, tree-lined boulevard, heavily populated by the city's cosmopolitan elite. In modern Lviv, Ukraine, this street is known as Prospect Svobody. Historical industrial and trade directories from the era reveal exactly what was inside number 33:
- The Photography Studio: Business indices confirm that Atelier "Carmen" was located precisely at Karola Ludwika 33. It was owned and run by a local photographer named Herman Meller. This means Leon Schmetterling walked directly into Meller’s studio on that grand boulevard to have this exact picture taken.
- The Building's Culture: Number 33 was a major cultural hub for Lwów's Jewish intelligentsia. The ground floor housed Café Edison (later renamed Café Abbazia), a famous coffeehouse frequented by Jewish writers, yeshiva students, and artists from the nearby Yiddish Gimpel Theater. Prominent Jewish residents, including a known local attorney named Dr. Maurycy Schrenzel, also lived or worked in the upper levels of this exact building.
The Date: March 4, 1918
- The date March 4, 1918, is highly significant. Just one month prior, on February 9, 1918, the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This temporarily stabilized the Eastern Front and allowed mail and communication lines between Austrian Galicia and Germany to briefly reopen with more regularity.Leon Schmetterling likely utilized this window of relative calm in the spring of 1918 to send a formal memento to his loved ones ("Meine Lieben") in Germany before the empire completely collapsed later that autumn.
The Identity: Leon Schmetterling
- Given that a Leopold Leon Schmetterling (born January 5, 1901) is explicitly recorded in local history as living in the region during this time, it is highly probable that the cabinet card depicts him as a 17-year-old young man. He survived the subsequent geopolitical turmoil, maintained a renowned passion for collecting historical artifacts, and passed away in Vienna in 1973. Tracing where this keepsake landed requires following the specific migrations of the Schmetterling family between Galicia, Vienna, and Germany.
The Path of Leopold Leon Schmetterling
The sender, Leopold Leon Schmetterling, had deep Austrian ties. He was born in Vienna (1901), moved to Tarnopol/Lwów where he was in 1918, took Polish citizenship in 1938, and ultimately returned to Vienna, where he died in 1973. Because his early life was rooted in Vienna, the "loved ones in Germany" mentioned in the inscription were likely aunts, uncles, or cousins who had migrated slightly further west or north into the German Empire during the pre-WWI boom years or as refugees.
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