(en) Vintage photography architectural photography Boston. Photographe Albert Levy

 








Oliver Ames was a member of the powerful family Ames. He was the politician who commissioned H. H. Richardson City Hall building in North Easton.
 
The photo shows us a detail of the facade as it was in 1882, his mansion in Boston.
Carl Fehmer, architect of the mansion, was a famous Boston architect of the time (Telephone Building, Shuman Corner). There are still today many of his works in this city.
The photo is an albumen on cardboard 22x24 cm. exceptionally preserved.
 

It belongs to an album entitled "L'Architecture Americaine" published by André, Daly, Fils & Cie in Paris in 1886.

Albert Levy was a famous French photographer who had open studios in New York and Paris in 1880's. He was the author of "Albert Levy's Photographic Series of Modern American Architecture".

These series are 663 photographs with a compendium of the best American architecture of the period. Collect a selection of the work of the best architects in cities like Boston, Chicago and New York.


Links:
  • 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
  • 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.



       
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