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The Penumbra Foundation Collection of Digitized Photography Manuals

Call Number

CAP.1

Dates

1847-1994, inclusive
; 1847-1930, bulk

Creator

Penumbra Foundation
Taubman, Eric

Extent

249 Volumes

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, with some publications in German and French.

Abstract

The Penumbra Foundation is a photographic arts organization developed to maintain relevant historical and analog photography in the digital age through education, supporting artists' work in historical processes, lecture series, research, residency programs, workshops, and studio and library programs in collaboration with a like-minded community. This collection consists of digitized photographic processing and equipment manuals, as well as volumes documenting the history of photography, generally dating from the mid-19th century to the early-20th century. These materials were collected by members of the Penumbra Foundation.

Historical Note

The Penumbra Foundation was founded in 1998 in New York City. It is a photographic arts organization developed to maintain relevant historical and analog photography in the digital age through education, supporting artists' work in historical processes, lecture series, research, residency programs, workshops, and studio and library programs in collaboration with a like-minded community.

Eric Taubman, co-founder of the Penumbra Foundation, is a fine art photographer and businessman who developed and operated photo labs in New York City and around the world for 30 years. At the time that digital photography was supplanting traditional analog services Eric turned his attention to the Center for Alternative Photography (CAP), a workshop based organization, which later would turn into the Penumbra Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 dedicated to supporting a broad range of historical and analog practices. His passion is the history of photography in all of its forms, processes, art, historical equipment and primary source material. His collection of photographic manuals is unique and comprised of early and rare volumes. Some of these items were owned by well-known photographers of the day.

The Penumbra Collection is complimented by a comprehensive and rare collection of lens manuals and lens catalogs. Geoffrey H. Berliner is the Executive Director of the Penumbra Foundation, a practicing photographer, a well-known portraitist, and a historian of photography. He has an extensive collection of historical lenses, said to be the largest collection in the world and an equally comprehensive collection of lens manuals. This ephemera is often discarded so the lens catalog collection may well represent the last copy left.

Arrangement

This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of digitized photographic processing and equipment manuals, as well as volumes documenting the history of photography, generally dating from the mid-19th century to the early-20th century. These materials were collected by members of the Penumbra Foundation.

A wide range of photographic topics are covered by the material in this collection. Some topics documented by this collection include the history of photography, the chemistry of photography, and information on creating different types of photographs such as Aristotypes and Ferrotypes. In addition to this material, the collection includes several lense catalogs from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. The New York University Archives is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Penumbra Foundation Collection of Digitized Photography Manuals; CAP 1; Object ID number; New York University Archives, New York University.

Existence and Location of Originals

Original volumes held by members of the Penumbra Foundation.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by the Penumbra Foundation, 2014.

Custodial History

These books are from the private collection of members of the Penumbra Foundation who lent the materials to New York University's Digital Library Technology Services for digitization.

Collection processed by

Jonathan Lawler, Olivia Jane Mueller, and John Zarrillo

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:48:32 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Manuals have been digitized to preservation standards in a color calibrated and FADGI compliant environment by NYU Digital Library Technology Services (DLTS).

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012