When Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger started working as a freelancer at the Glentleiten Open Air Museum in 1973, she chose Murnau as her place of residence. In 1932, she began her career as a press photographer for various magazines and publishers. She became known for her post-World War II documentation of the destruction and reconstruction of the cities of Munich and Würzburg. The photographer's estate - which includes over 300,000 negatives - is spread across more than 40 archives and institutions, including the Marburg Image Archive, the Augsburg University Library, the Glentleiten Open Air Museum and the Murnau Castle Museum. One focus of her work was documenting the landscape and the traditions practiced there. When her husband, Hans Groth, died in 1989, she left Murnau and moved to Würzburg. According to Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger, this device was a copying device in which the images were not enlarged, but had the same format as the negative. She mainly copied Rolleiflex films; the size was variable, but mostly 10 x 15 cm. To develop the film, the film was pulled through the frame slots. The photo paper was placed on the glass plate and framed with metal bands that were attached to the outside of the housing. Then the lid was closed and the lighting inside was switched on using the black and red button on the top of the box, depending on how long the negatives were to be exposed. The red bulb was not needed for exposure, but was intended as normal darkroom lighting. With the help of an exposure clock, the exposure time for developing the negatives could be set precisely.