Wilhelm J. Burger

Who was Wilhelm J. Burger?

Wilhelm J. Burger was an Austrian photographer and painter.

Burger learned photography from his uncle Andreas von Ettingshausen in the 1860s. In 1874, Burger operated a photographic studio in Vienna. When working in French, Burger used the first initial "G.", obviously for "Guillaume". He took photographs in Japan around 1869, and accompagnied the Wilczek expedition which was needed to prepare the Payer-Weyprecht polar expedition.

Burger died on 10 March 1920.

A fairly recent discovery has been made of photographs of Siam that were originally attributed to Wilhelm Burger. These photographs were compared to photographs of the same era taken by the Thai court photographer Khun Sunthornsathitsalak. When these photos were lined up side-by-side, it was discovered that what many had considered individual photographs were actually part of a set meant to be combined to form a panoramic view.

The complete set of photographs are now back in Thailand and are illuminating a new generation of Thai and Western students, historians, and everyday people as to what Bangkok of the 1860s really looked like.