Flatiron District store preserves generations of images

In as of late of digital images and transitory Instagram tales, folks like Stephan Loewentheil and Jacob Loewentheil are within the enterprise of appreciating what got here earlier than.

The father-and-son firm, “The 19th Century Rare Book & Photography Shop,” situated within the Flatiron District, offers in pictures and books made in a time when neither had been as plentiful as they’re now, with a watch in direction of preserving historical past.

“We deal in things that transcend momentary trends,” Stephan Loewentheil states. That’s undoubtedly an understatement – antiquarian books which can be usually held by museums are in inventory, resembling a King James Bible from 1613 and the primary collected version of Shakespeare’s poems, which has a worth listed as “please inquire” – which implies, after all, that we are able to’t afford it.

We’re fairly positive that we received’t be buying the early editions of the Bard’s collected works both, however there’s undoubtedly a market, as Stephan Loewentheil mentions that they’ve “sold more copies of the first edition than any other dealer.”

From Poe to images

“The establishment of our shop grew out of my father’s deep passion for literature, particularly Edgar Allan Poe,” Jacob Loewentheil explains. “His interest in Poe naturally expanded to other 19th-century thinkers and writers, individuals who shaped intellectual history.”

Jacob Loewentheil recounts how he “grew up working in the shop, and by the time I was 15, I was already putting out my first catalog.” Although he took a quick detour into the movie manufacturing enterprise, he got here again to focus on images, serving to his father assemble “the largest collection of 19th and early 20th century Chinese photography in the world,” in response to Stephan Loewentheil.

The assortment accommodates over 15,000 pictures, largely albumen prints and some of the glass negatives which have survived.

“Because of the cultural revolution,” Stephan Loewentheil explains, “a lot of paper things did not survive. So almost the entire collection comes from people who had been to China and took the pictures back as souvenirs of their visits or their life there.”

The pair was “very fortunate to be sponsored by the cultural attache from China” to mount a present of the work in Beijing in 2018.

“We were told that it was the earliest significant exhibition of 19th-century photography in China,” Stephen Loewentheil says. “It was extremely well received and the people we worked with there were fabulous – we couldn’t have been treated better.”

Although the Loewentheils don’t disparage the brand new expertise that, in response to Google, produces 5.3 billion pictures each day, they definitely recognize what went into creating these pictures.

“They had to prepare each glass plate, reset the camera, go through a lot of machinations,” Stephan Loewentheil says. “They had to carry a very large camera and volatile chemicals; they went up mountains and into the depths of the desert while carrying these things on burros and donkeys and wagons. And they had to get it right the first time.”

Moving a little bit ahead in time, Jacob Loewentheil has been immersed within the Sternberger assortment, an archive that he discovered simply ready for him in considered one of his father’s closets.

“It’s a project that holds great significance for me,” he muses. “It’s a remarkable archive of photographs and related ephemera by Marcel Sternberger, a photographer who captured some of the most intimate and influential portraits of writers, artists, and thinkers of the early 20th century.”

That’s not hyperbole, as that archive accommodates Albert Einstein, Frida Kahlo, Sigmund Freud, Indira Gandhi, and the picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that was used as a reference for the dime.

He has produced a monograph that includes the work in a ebook titled “The Psychological Portrait: Marcel Sternberger’s Revelations in Photography,” and restricted version property prints printed from the unique negatives are additionally out there.

Jacob Loewentheil can also be concerned in exploring the lifetime of Jack Kerouac, which he says is “a lifelong passion.”

“I’ve spent years building a collection of materials related to Jack Kerouac, including unpublished letters, important first editions inscribed by Kerouac, personal possessions and manuscript material,” he says. “These pieces are not just valuable artifacts; they also help tell the story of Kerouac’s life and work.”

His ebook “Running Through Heaven: Visions of Jack Kerouac” and a associated exhibit on the Grolier Club in March 2026 are arising.

It’s a present to make a dwelling doing one thing you’re keen on, and much more so when you may have a goal in doing it. “These collections serve as windows into the past, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who shaped our understanding of literature, photography, and culture,” says Jacob Loewentheil. “Ultimately, we see ourselves as custodians of these and our other items, protecting them for succeeding generations.”

When requested if both of them creates their very own pictures, Stephan Loewentheil simply laughs, “No, we can’t live up to what we sell, so it would be too frustrating.”

The store and gallery are open by appointment solely. Information is accessible at 19thshop.com and SternbergerCollection.com.