Walter Gemm — Rathausfreitreppe

Object record

The Rathaus staircase and Halberstadt Roland establish the listed title ‘Rathausfreitreppe.’ This urban motif also helps distinguish the family's separate 1926 Gemm marketplace painting, which presents the same civic center as an original painted work rather than a portfolio plate.

SeriesFamily-held objects and volumes

Archive reference

RB-SCAN-048

Date

Images made in 1945; Bestehorndruck portfolio issued circa 1945–1946

Medium

Bestehorndruck reproduction on heavy card stock, after a drawing or painting

Physical dimensions

Approximately 40.5–41.5 × 29–30 cm in complete-copy descriptions; this family sheet has not been independently measured

Digital image

1682 × 2600 pixels

Evidence status

Documented family-held portfolio sheet; artist and portfolio identified; acquisition history open

Uncertainty

The original tiny plate number was apparently cropped from the scan's narrow right edge. Staining, a torn lower-right corner and other edge losses are visible.

Source and provenance

One-page PDF scan of a family-held card-stock portfolio sheet, supplied to Rabbi Daniel Dolph Reichenbach by email and accessioned on 26 August 2026.

Custody history

Daniel Reichenbach reports that his grandfather Dolf bought the portfolio sheets and that Daniel's father retained the eight now scanned. Daniel's aunt has confirmed that she holds another print from the set; that sheet has not yet been photographed or identified. No receipt, inscription or dated family record currently establishes when or where Dolf acquired them.

Credit

Reichenbach Family Archive; artwork credited to the named artist; Bestehorndruck, Halberstadt

Rights

Family-held copy displayed at reduced resolution for historical identification, education and commentary. Copyright in the underlying artwork is not claimed by the Reichenbach Family Archive; no independent reuse rights are granted.

Image treatment

Full captured sheet rotated upright and reduced to a 1682 × 2600-pixel WebP access image. The captured borders, foxing, staining, tears and edge losses are retained; no cleanup, restoration, replacement or generative alteration was made. The source scan itself appears to crop part of the narrow right edge.