This recording was made by Phonogrammarchiv in Vienna, as part of a wider recording project carried out in the POW (prisoner-of-war) camps, recording language samples from representatives of nations not living on the territory of the Empire. By chance also a Latvian happened to be among those recorded. His performance consisted of a patriotic song, a folksong and a folk-tale, thus making him the first known recorded Latvian folklore informant.

This is a header part from the Phonogrammarchiv's catalogue page. As you see, the name of the recorded person is Edward Mueller (Eduards Millers), he's from the Northern Latvia, a small village Katvari in Valmiera district (modern Limbazi region). He was 29 years old on 7 October 1915, when the recording was made.

Eduards Millers, supposedly still in Austria, 1918. He sent this picture as a postcard to his relatives in Latvia, promising to return soon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Eduards Millers and his wife Maija who had been waiting for him quite a few years... This picture was taken around Midsummer, 1919. Eduards Millers spent the rest of his life working as a forester in his native neighbourhood.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

His daughter Velta in 1999. She could tell a lot about her father's life, although she didn't know much about the time he spent in Austria.