Batty Fischer

Jean-Baptiste (Batty) Fischer (1877–1958) was a Luxembourgish dentist and amateur photographer. He is best remembered for his collection of some 10,000 photographs that richly document the development of Luxembourg City from the end of the 19th century until the 1950s.

Early life and family

Batty Fischer was born on 24 July 1877 in the Marché aux Herbes opposite the Grand Ducal palace where his parents, Josef Fischer and Marguerite Marie Ferron, had a shop dealing in fashionable clothes and furs. Batty was the eldest of three children; his sister Marguerite and brother Fritz were later to take over the family business. After graduating from high school, Fischer studied dentistry at the Ecole Dentaire in Paris.

Professional career

At the age of 20, Fischer returned to Luxembourg and started a practice on the Grand-Rue which he later moved to a building near the Brasserie Pôle Nord adjacent to the Pont Adolphe. In 1942, after being deprived of his licence by the occupying Nazis on the grounds that he was too supportive of the French, he practiced on the corner of Boulevard d'Avranches and Avenue de la Gare.

Batty Fischer died in Luxembourg City on 27 December 1958. A half-used roll of film was found in his camera.

Collection

Some 10,000 photographs taken by Fischer between 1890 and 1958 can be viewed at the Photothèque in Luxembourg City.