27 
The Development of The International Society 
for Photogrammetry 
A Brief Survey by 
Professor Dr. Arvid Odencrants 
Honorary Member of the Swedish Society of Photogrammetry 
As soon as the perspective qualities of photographic pictures were clearly 
understood, they began to be used for registering a basis for measurements. 
Work of this kind was performed at an early stage in many places, although 
quite often in a primitive way and without precision in determination of the 
basic constants. There was no common organ through which experiences and 
results could be exchanged for the mutual benefit of all. 
It was therefore an event of great importance, when Professor Dolezal, on 
the 5th of May 1907, succeeded in gathering a fairly large number of men 
working in this field, who under his leadership then formed the »Österreichische 
Gesellschaft für Photogrammetrie». This society, to which interested persons 
from other countries could also gain admittance, held monthly meetings with 
valuable lectures and demonstrations of apparatus and methods. For us, it was 
perhaps even more important that a publication, »Internationales Archiv für 
Photogrammetrie», was published in four volumes during 1908—1914. It pro 
vides an invaluable source for our knowledge of the development of photo 
grammetry. 
In the Spring of 1908 was created, within the Société Française de Photo 
graphie, a Section (de Photogrammétrie) Laussedat, named after the pioneer in 
this field in France. As early as 1905 at the International Congress of Photo 
graphy in Dresden a representative collection of working methods and results 
had been displayed. 
The time was now ripe for more extensive collaboration. For this purpose the 
»Internationale Gesellschaft für Photogrammetrie» was constituted in 1910 and 
included an Austrian section and also a German section already formed in 1909. 
In 1909, October 4—9 the first »Ferienkurs für Photogrammetrie» was held 
at Zeiss’s in Jena, later followed by many others, which contributed to the 
spreading of photogrammétrie knowledge. 
Now plans were made to hold a »Hauptversammlung» — a world congress — 
but this was not achieved until 1913, in Vienna. Soon after, the First World War 
broke out. 
After the war, a long time elapsed before a new gathering of those interested 
in photogrammetry could take place. The »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photo 
grammetrie» appears to have had a meeting 26—27 September 1922. At a 
meeting in Jena, 28—29 September 1925 it was decided to arrange an interna 
tional congress in 1926, and to elect a Society and congress board independent 
of all commercial firms. 
The Congress was held 22—26 November 1926 in Berlin at the Technische 
Hochschule, where a very valuable exhibition was also arranged, with many 
new constructions. Once again the impulse to coordinate was felt, within either 
different countries or groups of such. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and 
the Baltic countries agreed to form a »Sektion Norden», intended to function un 
til the creation of national societies in these countries. It was decided at the 
Congress that new congresses should be held every four years. 
Congresses were then held in Zurich in 1930, in Paris in 1934 and in Rome 
in 1938. This last Congress was held at a time of great international tension—