Carl Sarap (March 4, 1893 – November 5, 1942) was an Estonian editor and photographer.

Sarap was the founder of the publishing house Odamees, where he worked as an editor and photographer. In the 1930s, he published photo postcards under the pseudonym Johann Triefeldt (J. Triefeldt, Joh. Triefeldt). His photo series (Beautiful Homeland) and (Estonia in Pictures: Geographical Picture Series for Schools) are well known.

Early life and education Carl Sarap was born in Voka, Estonia, the son of Juhan Sarap (1862–?) and Amalie Charlotte Sarap (née Saar, 1868–1952). His father was a schoolmaster in Voka and later a manor manager in Sompa, and he operated a bookstore in Rakvere in the 1920s.Advertisements for the Rakvere bookstores of Carl Sarap's father Juhan (Johann) Sarap and his aunt Mia (Marie) Saar appeared in the magazine Odamees from 1922 to 1928. From 1922 to 1924, Johann Sarap's bookstore in Rakvere was located at Pikk 11, and in 1925 at Pikk 13; in 1926, Mia Saar gradually took over the management of the company (in 1927, both names appear in the company's advertisement at the same time) and moved to Pikk 17 (next to the church); Odamees no. 1, 1922, p. 20; Odamees no. 6, 1925, p. 152; Revaler Bote, May 18, 1927, p. 10; Odamees no. 3, 1928, p. 96; Odamees no. 4, 1928, p. 122; Mia Saare's book and writing materials store registration file: 1926. Kaubandus-Tööstuskoda. ERA.891.2.5814. Juhan Sarap had a farm in the village of Martsa. Carl Sarap enrolled at the University of Tartu, but his studies were interrupted by the First World War.

Career Toward the end of the First World War, Sarap managed to earn a large sum of money, with which he founded the company Odamees–Carl Sarap in Tartu. In addition to publishing and a bookstore, he also owned a toy factory. Sarap's publishing house bought up and published the works of the former members of the Siuru group, other fiction and non-fiction, translated works, and calendars.

In 1919 and from 1922 to 1927, Sarap's publishing house published the literary, art, and research magazine Odamees. In 1919, the magazine's managing editor was Friedebert Tuglas, and five issues were published. In 1919, the weekly newspaper was also published for a short time. The managing editor was August Alle, and ten issues were published. After the magazine's ownership changed, Sarap worked as the editor-in-chief of Odamees from 1928 to 1929. After Sarap's publishing and book business ran into difficulties, the debts were paid off by guarantors—relatives, acquaintances, and friends. Sarap was declared insolvent in 1929.

Sarap moved back to Rakvere, where, together with his new partner Johanna Triefeldt (1899–1968), a former Toila school teacher, he operated a bookstore under the business name J. Triefeldt from 1929 onward,Johanna Triefeldt's book and stationery store registration file. 1929–1938 where Sarap was responsible for photography.Carl Sarap's application to the Rakvere Vocational Training Board for the examination in photography, April 25, 1936. Rakvere Vocational Training Board, Carl Sarap's photography applicant file. 1936–1941.

Starting in 1934,Letter from Carl Sarap to the State Parks Board. March 31, 1936. ERA 983.1.46, p. 1. Rahvusarhiiv. Sarap began systematically photographing Estonian landscapes, nature, animals, villages, and cities. He traveled with his camera throughout Estonia, making long journeys on foot and by car. Under the pseudonym J. Triefeldt (Joh. Triefeldt), Sarap published many photo postcards and also the postcard series Kaunis kodumaa (Beautiful Homeland, 1936–1940). In 1934, Sarap's photograph of Narva's Rahu Street was published in the as one of the illustrations for the entry "photographic art".

In 1936, a photo-illustrated volume on the architectural history of Narva also included photographs by Sarap. He received a gold medal at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. In 1937, Triefeldt's business moved to Broad Street () 17 (today Lai tänav 7) in Rakvere. In 1939, the publishing house Kultuurkoondis in Tallinn published the photo book Vana Narva (Old Narva) compiled by Sarap, which contained photos of the old town of Narva taken by Sarap and a historical overview by the Narva city archivist Arnold Soom.

Arrest and death On June 14, 1941, Sarap was arrested by the NKVD in the village of Voka in Virumaa County because of the camera he had with him in the border zone. Along with other detainees from the Tallinn Pre-Trial Prison, he was "evacuated" on July 4, 1941, before the arrival of German troops in Russia, to the Molotov Oblast, where he died in the Usollag prison camp in Solikamsk on November 5, 1942.Research file of Carl Sarap of the ESSR State Security Committee: SARAP Karl Ivan (1893). National Archives, ERAF.130SM.1.10292, page 57.

Personal life Sarap married Maari Velt (1897–?) in 1920, and the couple had two children.

Photos by Sarap Individual photos

The postcard series "Beautiful Homeland" (1936–1940)

The photo postcards of the series "Beautiful Homeland" () were made from Carl Sarap's photographs taken between 1936 and 1940. The publisher was Triefeldt's company in Rakvere. Sarap began photographing the series no later than 1934.Letter from Carl Sarap to the State Parks Board, March 31, 1936. The back of the postcards was printed with the title of the photo (usually a place name), the name of the publisher, the year of publication, and the serial number of the series, from 001 to 2050. It is known that nearly 600 different photo postcards were published as part of the series.

The postcard series "Estonia in Pictures: Geographical Picture Series for Schools" (1939)

In 1939, Triefeldt's company began publishing a series of photo sets with Carl Sarap's photographs, intended as a teaching aid for schools, called "Estonia in Pictures: Geographical Picture Series for Schools" (). The set of pictures dedicated to a specific Estonian region included a paper cover and ten different photos with information about the subject of the picture printed on the back. The geographer August Tammekann and the historian Arnold Soom contributed to the series of pictures. Nine photo sets were eventually published (all in 1939)."Estonia in Pictures" advertising order sheet, 1939.

References

External links