Vintage photo 1880'. The Berkshires New York. Pfeiffer, Carl architect

Esta es una magnífica foto de arquitectura americana, exactamente de la ciudad de Nueva York.

Albert Levy fue un famoso fotógrafo francés que mantuvo un estudio abierto en Nueva York y realizó numerosas series de fotografías sobre la arquitectura americana, especialmente en Boston, Nueva York y Chicago.

Pfeiffer, Carl (1838-1888) fue , a la vez, arquitecto y cliente en este edificio, The Berkshires. Con otras ocho personas puso el dinero necesario para su construcción. Parte del edificio lo habitaron los propietarios y parte lo destinaron a alquiler. Como detalle, avanzado para la época, el edificio disponía de dos ascensores, se calentaba por vapor e, incluso disponía de incinerador de basuras en el sótano.

Carl Pfeifer was both the architect and a client for this apartement building. He organized eight shareholders who advanced the money for the construction and the becamen one of the corporate owners and occupants of the building.
The building was completely heated by steam and contained two elevators and a  incinerator in the basement
(American Victorian Architecture. A survey of the 70's and 80's in contemporary photograps. Dover . Arnold Lewis, notes by Keith Morgan)


CARL PFEIFFER'S DEATH.; AN ARCHITECT WHOSE NAME IS CONNECTED WITH MANY WORKS. The New York Times April 29. 1888



Las fotografías de A. Levy son de gran calidad notándose en ella su formación francesa sobre, en la difícil técnica, de fotografiar un edificio.
Esta foto pertenece a la serie , formada por tres volúmenes de 40 fotos cada uno, titulada "L' Architecture Americaine"

Las fotografías de Levy se encuentran en los mejores museos del mundo: Getty, Art Institute Chicago, C.C. A. de Canada, Librería del Congreso, Librería Publica de Boston .

Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture. Due to these series, Albert Levy is referenced as counterpart for Alinari in the United States (13).

  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Second Series, Country Dwellings. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Ninth Series, Street Fronts. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: First Series, Private City Dwellings. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Fifth Series, Messrs. Vanderbilt's Mansions. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Tenth Series, Sea Shore Cottages and Country Houses. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Twelfth Series, Modern Street Architecture of Berlin, Street Fronts and Apartment Houses. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series, the Fourteenth Series: Romanesque and Gothic Churches in the South of France (24)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture: Sixteenth Series, American Private City Dwellings. (16)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series : Lévy, Albert. 1895 (16)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series:  Twenty-fourth series.(Berne, Lucerne, Zurich and other Swiss cities and towns) (21)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series : Thirty-Fifth Series, Sea Shore Cottages And Country Houses, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Maine : Lévy, Albert. 1895 (16)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series: Thirty-First Series, Street Fronts, Stores, Office , Etc : Lévy, Albert. c1884 (15)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series : Thirty-Sixth Series, Sea-Shore Cottages, Etc., Newport, R.I., And Long Branch, N.J : Lévy, Albert. 1895 (15)
  • Albert Levy's Photographic Series Of Modern American Architecture. : Lévy, Albert. 1883
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series: 3rd series, French Gothic and Renaissance, Civil and Domestic Architecture, New York: Albert Levy, 1884. (14)
  • Albert Levy's Architectural Photographic Series: 33rd series, American City and Country Residences, etc, New York: Albert Levy, 1884. (14)
  • Architectural Photographic Series, city houses/Levy: 1 album, 38 leaves of plates: photographs 36x46 cm. New York, Albert Levy (between 1880-1895?). (20).
    • Signature by Albert Levy in "Albert Levy's Architectural photographic series"

      In some cases, in the Photographic series the  Photographs are titled, numbered and mounted on blue card stock. The card stock is embossed
      "Architectural & Decorative Books, Albert Levy, NY, 77, University".

      Studies/shops:
      - He had the following studies in New York

          - A study in 77 University Place, NY in 1870-1878 (23)

          - A study in 4 Bond Street, NY in 1880 (2)
          - A study in 34 1/2 Pine Street, NY in 1887 (3).
      - At the same time he also had a study in France, 19 rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, Paris (3).
      - The Bibliothèque Nacionale de France also has another reference in 1901: "22 janvier 1901, A. Lévy, 4 av. Pinel, Asnières" (3)
      He is also referenced as bookseller (2).

      Manufacturer:
      Albert Levy is referenced as the photographer who began the manufacture of the gelatin dry plates in 1878. All references can be found in the book Photography and the American Scene. A social history (1839-1889) by Robert Taft. See (5), (6), (7) and (8) for full text.
      Albert Levy is also identified as "early competitor of Eastman, NYC" (9). This reference relates also to the book by Robert Taft (10).

      Editor:
      The Bibliothèque Nacionale the France (2) and the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library (20) own a catalogue of 2500 titles by Albert Levy as editor in New York and Paris for Architectural photography. 

      • Photographs by Levy in the Halic Collection: Art Institute Chicago 
      • Culture France
        L’assimilation du régionalisme dans l’architecture balnéaire

        L’apparition du style néo-normand est sans doute la plus précoce mais aussi la plus
          ambiguë du régionalisme. D’après Claude Mignot, le créateur du type de la villa néo-normande
        semble être l’architecte caennais Jacques Baumier père. Dès 1860, celui-ci bâtit les dépendances de la villa Suzanne de Louis-Léon Paris à Houlgate et, deux ans plus tard, sur la plage de Trouville la Maison normande pour Adolphe Cordier. Elles seront suivies de trois autres réalisations sur les  hauteurs de la même station. Il faut attendre une vingtaine d’années pour voir se répandre la seconde génération de villas sur toute la côte normande, signées par de nombreux architectes comme
        Jacques Baumier fils, Edouard Papinot, Adrien Jory père et fils, E. Mauclerc, G. Pichereau

        Estudio sobre la arquitectura Balnearia. Tipos de Viviendas

        Jacques Baumier Wikipedia

      Archive.org. en este documento se encuentra una referencia al Carl Pfeiffer en la página 748 

Appletons' cyclopædia of American biography