1888: Pírka’s studio is opened

One of the most fundamental technological breakthroughs of the era was the invention of photography. At the beginning of the 19th century there were several recorded attempts to capture images, mainly using a camera obscura, but the invention of photography is attributed to Louis Daguerre in 1839. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, photographs were most often created on glass plates. It was only the development of film in the early 20th century that enabled amateurs to enjoy photography. Around the turn of the 20th century several photographers were active in Pardubice, but the best-known of them was Josef Pírka, whose surname is also given as Pírko (1861–1942).

Josef Pírka learned photography from Anton Glöckner in Šumperk, and in 1877, after four years studying photographic techniques, he opened a branch of Glöckner’s company in Pardubice. Pírka began photographing horse-races in Pardubice, as well as taking photos of par force hunting (deer hunting with hounds). These pastimes were popular among the high-ranking aristocracy, and in 1888, when Pírka opened his own studio, he was granted the title “Court Photographer to the Duke of Nassau”, which he prized greatly. In 1899 he became an official imperial and royal court photographer. Besides photographing members of the aristocracy, he also took pictures of local people from all strata of society, as well as of the city and the surrounding area.
Pírka also photographed horses and horse-racing in Russia, and he knew many prominent people in Europe who came to Pardubice for the races. He was a keen painter, and he combined painting with photography, becoming very skilled at retouching photographic images.

Josef Pírka was devastated by the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, as well as by the satirical novel Uhlans and Cavaliers (1928) which mocked him, and by the death of his only son Josef (1930). In contrast to other Pardubice photographers, a large number of Pírka’s photographs (on glass plates) are now held by the museum in Pardubice.