Albert Levy photographs.Bibliographical references . International exhibition 1876 official catalogue. Part II,
All data about Levy in my web ( 2025)
Bibliographical references
There are no specific books on Albert Levy, however we have found mentions of his works in serveral books.
The first ones - numbers 5 to 8, by Robert Taft - are references from a very relevant book on XIX century photography in the United States.
References #40 onwards have been found at the Art Institute of Chicago. If you browse at the Ryerson & Burnham Archives Archival Image Collection for Albert Levy, you will find more than 200 images by Albert Levy, In many on those we can read a "reference source" which mainly indicates the "Albert Levy's archictural photographic series" it belongs to and in many cases we find a reference to a publication. Find below some to the books that are referenced as a source in the Art Institute of Chicago; I have not listed them all.
(4) - "International guide to the nineteenth century photographers and their works", by Gary Edward. (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1988)
(5) - "Photography and the American Scene. A social history (1839-1889)" by Robert Taft. New York, Dover, 1964. 'He
(John Carbutt) was preceded in this effort, as far as I can definitely
ascertain, only by Albert Levy of New York, who began the manufacture of
gelatin dry plates in 1878'. Page 371.
(6) - "Photography and the American Scene. A social history (1839-1889)" by Robert Taft. New York, Dover, 1964. 'Mention
of the Levy dry plates and cameras can be found in Philadelphia
Photographer v.16, p. 95 (1879). As the notice appears early in 1879
and states that Levy is well known for his dry plates, it is quite
evident that he was making them as early as 1878 and possibly sooner.' Here is described where Taft found the reference. Page 503.
(7) - "Photography and the American Scene. A social history (1839-1889)" by Robert Taft. New York, Dover, 1964. 'In
fact the earliest manufacturers of dry plates (Levy and Carbutt) sold
their products rather largely to amateurs. Early in 1879, Levy followed
up his plates with a small camera designed for amateurs trade. This was
described as “a unique little camera for dry plates- and he (Levy)
offers camera and lens for $12.00 for plates 4x5 inches: For this sum a
half a dozen plates, developer, pyro, and hypo are included, with full
instructions for working the same". The following year T.H Blair of
Chicago place on the market a camera for “amateurs photographers,
college boys and artists “ which became well known.'. Page 375.
(8) - "Photography and the American Scene. A social history (1839-1889)" by Robert Taft. New York, Dover, 1964. 'The
Levy and Blair cameras brought in a host of others, and E. and H. T.
Anthony, and the Scovill Manufacturing Company, among the largest or the
American photographic houses, were quick to follow with similar
device.' Page 375.
(19) - "American Victorian Architecture", by Arnold Lewis. Dover publications, 1975
(39) Yale University Art Gallery. Philadelphia Naturalistic Photography 1865 —1906. (10 February- 7April 1982). See pdf. "In 1879 Philadelphia manufacturer John Carbutt and New Yorker Albert Levy both had placed their dry plates on the market. The development had been long awaited by wet-plate practitioners; many new workers were lured to photography as a result of the great simplification of technique. Almost overnight, camera clubs found their membership changing. The Photographic Society of Philadelphia, once composed of "the most expert photographers and scientific men of the city,55 now included "skillful amateurs, who find in photography pleasant and healthful recreation; scientists who study the art experimentally; artists to whom the camera is a helpful tool, travelers who [make] pictorial records in all parts of the world, and professional photographers of the highest ability."In 1879 Philadelphia manufacturer John Carbutt and New Yorker Albert Levy both had placed their dry plates on the market. The development had been long awaited by wet-plate practitioners; many new workers were lured to photography as a result of the great simplification of technique. Almost overnight, camera clubs found their membership changing. The Photographic Society of Philadelphia, once composed of "the most expert photographers and scientific men of the city,55 now included "skillful amateurs, who find in photography pleasant and healthful recreation; scientists who study the art experimentally; artists to whom the camera is a helpful tool, travelers who [make] pictorial records in all parts of the world, and professional photographers of the highest ability."
(40) - "New York 1880: Architecture and Urbanism in the Gilded Age" by Robert A.M. Stern. This book "is an in-depth presentation of the buildings and plans that transformed New York from a harbor town into a world-class metropolis. A broad range of primary sources -- critics and writers, architects, planners, city officials -- brings the time period to life and allows the city to tell its own complex story. The book is generously illustrated with over 1,200 archival photographs, which show the city as it was, and as some parts of it still are." Some of these pictures are from Albert Levy's Architectural photographic series.
(41) - "Showplace of America: Cleveland's Euclid Avenue, 1850-1910", De Jan Cigliano, Jan Cigliano Hartman.
(42) - Ochsner, "H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works," p.282-284.
(43) - Gebhard, "Guide to the Architecture of Minneapolis," p.35
(44) - "Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Maine," v.3 no. 5.
(45) - Bryan, "Maine Cottages: Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert," p. 182
(46) - "Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston," by Morgan p. 173"
(47) - Yarnall, "Newport Through Its Architecture: A History of Styles From Postmedieval to Postmodern," p. 108. and p.104
(48) - "American Architect and Building News," 11/27/1880, v.8, p.258 and plate
(49) - Bunting "Houses of Boston's Back Bay," p.428.
(50) - "Architectural Heritage of Newport", pl. 205 and pl. 195
(51) - "Newport: A Tour Guide" (rev.) 8
(52) - "Lost Baltimore: A Portfolio of Vanished Buildings," p. 230-231.
(53) - "Tatman, "Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects 1700-1800," p. 141.
(54) - Reed, "A Delight To All Who Know It: The Summer Architecture of William R. Emerson," p. 34-35.
International exhibition 1876 official catalogue. Part II, Art gallery, annexes, and outdoor works of art : Department IV.--Art
- by
- Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)
- pag 140 nº 111
