Konditorei

DATE - 1955

At the suggestion of Billy Wilder and another friend, Frank Perls, the Eames visited the Conditorei Kreutzmann (a pastry and coffee shop) in Munich during a cultural exchange trip they made to Germany. They were so impressed with the perfection of the cafe’s operation and the elegance of its pastries that they persuaded the proprietor to let them photograph the shop’s behind-the-scenes workings one night. 

Additional Information

Shooting began at 9:00 PM and continued through the night in the basement bakery. In addition to recording the preparation, decoration, and serving of pastries, Charles photographed the storefront and some architectural details, the waitresses’ uniforms, and the serving utensils and china—in short, the art and character of the German coffee shop.

On returning home, Charles uses the photographs to make a three-screen, thirty-two pass (ninety-six images were seen in sets of threes) slide show accompanied by baroque music. For the Eameses, the ritual forms and organizational harmony of the pastry shop revealed distinctive aspects of German sensibility.

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