Words on Pictures

Marion . Subject heading: Curiosity. engraving, ca. 1850. Stahlstich v. Carl Mayer’s Kunst-Anstalt in Nürnberg. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. Curious? For the nominal cost of $4.99 you can get the ebook Words on Pictures: Romana Javitz and the New York Public Library's Picture Collection.  Covering the years 1916 to 1965, Words on Pictures is an excellent resource for the study of the use and dissemination of printed visual resources during of the age of photo-mechanical reproduction.   The story of the Picture Collection cannot be told without the story of Romana Javitz (1903-1980) who was head of the Picture Collection from 1928-1968. A pioneering librarian whose career spans the rise of print media, cinema and the mass circulation of illustrated magazines and newspapers across the globe. In three interviews included in the publication Javitz reveals a mastery of the semantics of photograp

Reading war news aboard streetcar. San Francisco, California. 1941.  John Collier.  The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York  Public Library. Pictures at War Did you know that the New York Public Library's Picture Collection was a key resource for the Armed Forces during World War II? Here is an excerpt from the Annual Report for 1943: "The enemy loomed large as the most popular subject in picture requests during the year. Since a soldier is taught to bayonet the enemy and not some undefined abstraction, he must learn to recognize that enemy; a bombardier must be able to visualize the appearance of the factory which is to be his target; a designer of camouflage must have the specific knowledge of the shape of forests in the battle area as seen from the air. War leaders require pictorial surveys preceding decisions of strategy and action. Direct information for the use of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps was supp

Reaching the People: The Picture Collection's Farm Security Administration Photographs Grandmother from Oklahoma and her pieced quilt. California, Kern County (1936). Dorothea Lange (1895-1965). This Dorothea Lange photograph is one of several carefully selected images from the Farm Security Administration series that are reproduced in my new book, Words on Pictures: Romana Javitz and the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection. (Photo|Verso: New York) Javitz was a close friend and colleague of the head of the FSA’s Historical Section, Roy D. Stryker. Stryker’s mission was to get the photographs of the conditions wrought by the Great Depression out to the public and the Picture Collection was the perfect venue. Not only did over 40,000 photos eventually find their way into the circulating stock, complete exhibitions were also prepared and distributed throughout the NYPL Branches, department stores and other sites. In one instance Stryker assembled a large print ex

The history of the use of visual mateials and photography in the arts, the sciences and in commerce cannot be told without Romana Javitz and the story of her 40-year career as the supervisor of the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection.  The New York Public Library’s Picture Collection has been circulating photographs, clippings, prints and postcards to the public for over 105 years. It is a free picture reference service used by many important industries that need visual resources for their work.  Still operating out of t he Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42 nd  Street,   the Picture Collection remains an important resource for teachers and historians, designers and illustrators, as well as artists and photographers. It is, at almost 1.5 million images, considered an encyclopedia of pictures that encapsulates the age of mechanical reproduction.  The texts presented in Words on Pictures highlight the career of Javitz, who, as superintendent of the Picture

  NYPL Picture Collection Source Files   Words on Pictures: Romana and the New York Public Library’s Picture Collection .  edited by Anthony T. Troncale. New York:  Photo | Verso Publications, LLC , 2020.    ISBN 978-1-7346409-0-8 (hardcover)   Identifiers ISBN    978-1-7346409-1-5 (ebook) Picture Collection Source Files The Picture Collection began sourcing their files soon after Javitz became its Superintendent in 1929.  If an illustration was clipped from a book or portfolio the plate would be assigned a Source Number which would lead you back to a catalog card listing its provenance, bibliographic information, or if it was a gift or purchase.  Today this source file index and its accompanying index to periodicals that have been clipped are valuable research tools. Courtesy, New York Public Library, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs. Picture Collection. #photography, #visual arts, #photographers, #visualresources, #librarians, #documentation

Romana Javitz, ca. 1950. photo: Sol Libsohn (Yampolsky Coll.) Headline: "Library not art snob, picture chief says".  Toronto Globe & Mail, November 30, 1946 Romana Javitz was interviewed by the Toronto Globe & Mail, November 30, 1946 while she was attending the annual conference of the Special Libraries Association where she gave a speech. The below excerpt of the interview perfectly encapsulates her position on visual literacy as something bigger than art, broader than aesthetics, and the Picture Collection's populist approach to selection. " Library not art snob, picture chief says " “Since the development of the camera in 1839, we have available to us a picture of almost every aspect of the history of man”, said Romana Javitz, head of the picture service of the New York Public Library. “We can see pictures of man’s wars, his triumphs, the kind of food he likes, the women he loved, the kind of dances he did and the kinds of houses in which h

New York Public Library's Picture Collection, 1940s. Photo by Wurts Bros. New York Public Library Archives ( Visual Materials, RG10 ).  Worth Beyond Words: Romana Javitz and NYPL Picture Collection.  The general public, especially outside the New York City area, is not familiar with the uniqueness of the New York Public Library's Picture Collection. It provides, much like books, the free circulation of prints, photographs, postcards and other clippings, all arranged using subject classification. And they have been doing it since 1914!  T he story of the origination of the Picture Collection and the career of Romana Javitz (1903-1980) can be found in an essay I wrote in 1995 for  the NYPL journal  Biblion: Worth Beyond Words: Romana Javitz and The New York Public Library's Picture Collection Here is an excerpt: " Within two years of the opening of The New York Public Library's Central Building in 1911, the Print Room found itself overwhelmed with requests for p

Lewis Wickes Hine: Pictures as Documents  Stamped: Photo file: Photographs by Lewis W. Hine          Source: #8446 Subjects: New York City – Tenements Caption: “The doorway to the stables has become the entrance to the rear tenements. The shed at right is used as a horse’s stall. The covered drive way is used as a playground." Locale: Mayer’s Place, New York City Date: 1901s      Stamped: Franziska Gay Schacht Collection. NYPL Picture Collection - Reference File Lewis Wickes Hine (1905-1938) was the perfect kind of photographer for the purposes of documentation. While his intentions were largely one of advocating for social reform, his ability to construct his compositions and pack them with information is what made his work of interest to the New York Public Library's Picture Collection.  In a masterly use of flash Hine encapsulates all manner of subject matter in crisp detail. In addition to housing conditions and children’s welfare, c