Berenice Abbott

signed in pencil and with title, date, and annotations in ink and the photographer's '50 commerce st., new york city' studio and Federal Art Project 'Changing New York' stamps on the reverse, 1936

Danziger Gallery, New York, 1998

Bonnie Yochelson, ed., Berenice Abbott: Changing New York [Wall Street] (The Museum of the City of New York, 1997), pl. 40

Ron Kurtz, ed., Berenice Abbott, Volume II (Göttingen, 2008), pp. 118-19

Hank O'Neal, Berenice Abbott: American Photographer (New York, 1982), p. 119

This pleasingly warm-toned, early contact print, on smooth, light-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface, is in generally very good to excellent condition. Faint silvering is visible in the dark areas of the image. The outline of the photographer's Commerce Street studio stamp on the reverse of the print is just visible in the silvering in the lower left quadrant of the image. In raking light, a fingerprint and 2 small sharp creases that do not appear to break the emulsion are visible in the upper portion of the image. The black margins are rubbed, and the left and right margin edges are lightly rippled. There are 4 small clamp impressions in the margin corners, which are also bumped. On the reverse of the print, the following information is written in ink: ''El' 2nd + 3rd Ave Lines: Looking w. from 250 Pearl St., Manhattan Neg #88 Code # II. A. [ ] 2 March 26, 1936' Also on the reverse, '19' [circled], 'EK2380,' 'ABBO-066/01,' and the shape of a star are in pencil. There are small linen, rice paper, and hinge remnants along the upper and lower edges on the reverse.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"To photograph New York City means to seek to catch in the sensitive and delicate photographic emulsion the spirit of the metropolis, while remaining true to its essential fact, its hurrying tempo, its congested streets, the past jostling the present . . . all these things and many more comprise New York City in 1935 and it is these aspects that should be photographed."

Berenice Abbott, 1935