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Carl Caspar Giers〔Giers sometimes used the first name "Charles."〕 (April 28, 1828 – May 24, 1877) was a German-born American photographer active primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, in the mid-19th century. In documenting Nashville's rapid postwar growth and expansion, he photographed numerous prominent individuals, including political leaders, Civil War generals, and important business and cultural figures. A popular resident of the city, he served one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1874–1875), having been the nominee of both the Democratic and Republican parties.〔James A. Hoobler and Sarah Hunter Marks, ''(Nashville: From the Collection of Carl and Otto Giers )'' (Arcadia Publishing, 2000).〕 Giers was the adopted father of Otto Giers (1858–1940), who continued the family trade into the 20th century. ==Life== Giers was born in Bonn, and immigrated to the United States in 1845. He moved to Nashville in 1852, where he initially he worked as a conductor for the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad (he reportedly piloted the first passenger train in Murfreesboro).〔 In January 1855, he opened a daguerreotype studio at the corner of Deaderick and College streets that featured "powerful side and sky lights" and rooms "fitted up in elegant style," and catered to "the ladies particularly."〔"(Daguerreotypes! Daguerreotypes! )" ''Nashville Union and American'', 16 January 1855, p. 2.〕 Later that year, he exhibited his work at Nashville's Mechanics' Fair.〔"(The Mechanics' Fair )," ''Daily Nashville True Whig'', 11 October 1855, p. 2.〕 In 1859, Giers overhauled his studio and renamed it the "Southern Photographic Temple of Fine Arts." Along with daguerreotypes, the new studio offered ambrotypes and miniatures, and provided photographic enlargement services.〔"(Southern Photographic Temple of Fine Arts )," ''Nashville Patriot'', 12 July 1859, p. 4.〕 During the Civil War, Giers photographed both Confederate and Union soldiers. After the Union Army occupied Nashville in early 1862, Giers was given a pass to move about freely in the city, and to travel outside the city. By October 1863, he had moved to a new gallery on Union Street, selling his old gallery to Thomas Saltsman.〔"(Thuss, Koellein, and Giers )," ''Civic Scope'', 13 January 2010. Retrieved: 18 July 2014.〕 In late 1865, Giers became a founding member of the German Union Committee, which cooperated with the American Central Union Committee to "secure the election of competent and uncompromising Union men to the offices of the State."〔"(German Union Association )," ''Knoxville Whig and Rebel Ventilator'', 20 December 1865, p. 2.〕 During the decade following the end of the war, Giers was a persistent advocate for immigration, and frequently encouraged state officials to advertise the state in Europe. He was a member of the inaugural Board of Directors of the Tennessee Colonial and Immigration Society in 1866,〔"(Tennessee Colonial and Immigration Society )," ''Nashville Daily Union'', 8 June 1866, p. 3.〕 and served as President of the German Immigration Society during the same period.〔Charles Edwin Robert, ''(Nashville and Her Trade for 1870 )'' (Roberts and Purvis, 1870), p. 393, 406.〕 In 1870, he helped convince thirty-eight German families to move to Tennessee.〔"(More German Immigration )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 27 March 1870, p. 4.〕 He was a frequent presence at Nashville German-American festivals and events during this period,〔"(German Patriotic Aid Society )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 16 August 1870, p. 4.〕〔"(The German Celebration )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 4 April 1871, p. 1.〕 and was "Worshipful Master" of the Masons' Germania Lodge.〔 During the presidential campaign of 1872, Giers supported the Liberal Republican Party, which opposed the renomination of President Ulysses S. Grant. In March 1872, Giers signed a petition calling on state Republicans to send delegates to the Liberal Republican convention in Cincinnati.〔"(The Cincinnati Convention )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 2 March 1872, p. 3.〕 In June 1872, Giers presided over a Nashville German-American convention that endorsed Liberal Republican candidate Horace Greeley for president.〔"(Nashville )," ''Jackson (TN) Whig and Tribune'', 1 June 1872, p. 2.〕 In September 1874, Nashville Democrats nominated Giers for one of Davidson County's four seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives.〔"(Our County Legislative Ticket )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 8 September 1874, p. 1.〕 Shortly afterward, the city's Republicans also endorsed Giers, and he was easily elected in November.〔"(The November Elections )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 28 October 1874, p. 3.〕 Giers opposed repudiation of the state's out-of-control debt (the state debt was becoming one of the most contentious issues in Tennessee politics), and argued in favor of reorganizing the state bureaucracy to eliminate unnecessary offices. He continued to champion immigration, and called for the state to appoint a commissioner to advertise Tennessee in Europe. He also opposed the controversial convict lease system.〔"(The Legislative Canvass: Address of C.C. Giers to the Citizens of Davidson County )," ''Nashville Union and American'', 10 October 1874, p. 3.〕 He served only one term (39th General Assembly), and did not seek reelection.〔''(Tennessee Blue Book )'' (1890), p. 〕 Giers died at his home on Granny White Pike on the outskirts of Nashville on May 24, 1877, "after a long and painful illness."〔 He is buried in Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery.〔 His family sold his studio to photographer W.E. Armstrong.〔〔"(Change in the Photographic Business )," ''Columbia (TN) Herald and Mail'', 20 July 1877, p. 3.〕 Giers' adopted son, Otto Giers (1858–1940), took up photography in 1883, and continued the trade into the early 20th century.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Carl Giers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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