Date of use : 1923 Belgium

1923 Art Bookstore Postcard to Berlin's Historic Photo Publisher

This postcard was sent on June 28, 1923, by Librairie d'Art G. Zazzarini & Cie, a company based in Antwerp, Belgium. The postmark on the card indicates that the company operated as an art bookstore. The recipient was Photographische Gesellschaft Kunstverlag, a renowned photography and art publishing house in Germany. Photographische Gesellschaft was founded in 1862 in Berlin by brothers Albert and Friedrich Werckmeister. Initially, the company focused on publishing photographic reproductions of classical copper engravings but later shifted towards direct reproductions of oil paintings.

In this capacity, it published masterpieces from major galleries as well as works by many modern artists in various formats. Specializing in the photographic reproduction of artworks, the company expanded internationally, establishing branches in Paris, London, and New York.

The company's headquarters was originally located in Dönhoffplatz in Berlin, while its workshops were in the Westend district. From 1914 onwards, the main office was also relocated to Westend. In 1927, Photographische Gesellschaft was acquired by Franz Hanfstaengl Kunstverlag and continued to operate officially until the mid-1950s. Among its notable publications is the Bilderkatalog der Photographischen Gesellschaft: Kunstverlag begründet 1862, published in 1903.

The company played a significant role in the photographic reproduction of artworks and urban photography, particularly documenting Berlin's architectural structures and newly built train stations. On the back of the postcard, the sender mentioned their intention to send their Corpus Imaginum catalog to the recipient and requested certain Farbige Faksimile-Druck (Verlag Frisch) works to be sent to them by mail. The listed numbers are as follows: 20150 - 20146 - 20129 - 20138 (2 copies) - 20071 - 20132 - 20178 (3 copies) - 20040 (2 copies) - 20164 - 20163 - 20102 - 20041 (2 copies) - 20092 - 20087 - 20094 - 20049 - 20048 - 20050 - 20051. Additionally, some numbers include annotations such as (2 ex.) and (3 ex.), indicating that two or three copies of those works were requested.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
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