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Native New Yorker Harvey S. Zucker (1931- ) founded the legendary bookshop A
Photographers Place in 1979. A man of many hats, he has been a commercial
photographer, a contributing editor
of Popular Photography
and
Shutterbug
, an
instructor of photography, and has lectured on photographic techniques and history.
A pioneering figure and taste-maker in the dynamic photobook marketplace of
the 1980s and 1990s, A Photographers Place (“in Soho!”) was the go-to destination
for scarce photobooks, antique cameras, and important daguerreotypes. In a pre-
Internet world, Harvey’s catalogs were written with an eye for wonderful facts and
great storytelling and mailed to a roster of 50,000 international clients. After
Harvey closed the shop in 2001 he maintained his network, frequenting auctions,
lectures and trade shows.
Harvey is an avid fan of early photographic techniques. He converted a vintage
1938 truck into a portable tintype studio, driving to local fairs and making portraits
using costumes, backdrops and period paraphernalia stored in the truck. But his
deepest passion was reserved for the daguerreotype, a stunning photographic
technique that has entranced collectors for more than 170 years. He started
making daguerreotypes in the 1970s and quickly became an adept technician. One
of his images is in the Smithsonian Institution.
Harvey’s keen sense of humor, enjoyment of word play and witticisms entertained
many a close friend and colleague. Swann is pleased to be offering selections from
his vast collection of cased images, stereos, paper prints, ephemera and photobooks.