Discovering Grant Castner : the lost archive [of a New Jersey photographer] / [edited by] Nicholas P. Ciotola, Gary D. Saretzky ; foreword by Margaret M. O'Reilly.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Castner, Grant, 1863-1941, Photographer.

Contributor:

Ciotola, Nicholas P., editor.

Saretzky, Gary D., editor.

O'Reilly, Margaret M., writer of foreword.

Series:

Ceres: Rutgers studies in history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Castner, Grant, 1863-1941--Exhibitions.

Castner, Grant.

New Jersey State Museum--Exhibitions.

New Jersey State Museum.

Documentary photography--New Jersey--Exhibitions.

Documentary photography.

New Jersey--History--20th century--Exhibitions.

New Jersey.

New Jersey--Social life and customs--20th century--Exhibitions.

New Jersey--Social conditions--20th century--Exhibitions.

Physical Description:

xvii, 204 pages : illustrations, photographs, portraits ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2026]

Summary:

"In July 2019, staff of the New Jersey State Museum visited a cramped and dusty storage locker in Hunterdon County. Inside was a treasure trove of more than one thousand glass plate negatives. Each negative preserved an image of New Jersey at the turn of the 20th century. They once belonged to a Trenton resident who had used the plates as tools for his chosen art form. His name was Grant Castner. His art was photography. Castner's glass plate negatives are a visual record of New Jersey's social and cultural history. His many human subjects are rich and poor, young and old, Black and white. They are at work, at play, at home, and in the community. Castner also documented social change brought about by electricity, engineering, education, industry, and transportation. He captured the excitement of public amusements such as parades and fairs. He recorded the aftermath of floods, fires and other disasters. Castner also had a fondness for the outdoors. He used his camera to reflect on the beauty and tranquility that he found in the natural landscapes of New Jersey. This book presents the collective work of Grant Castner, an amateur artist whose place in New Jersey history was, until now, completely unknown. His photographic negatives forever preserve pinpoint moments in the past. They are time machines to another era. Let this long lost archive transport you on a visual journey into a New Jersey of days gone by"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1. Family

Chapter 2. Neighbors

Chapter 3. City

Chapter 4. Work

Chapter 5. Youth

Chapter 6. Canal

Chapter 7. Rails

Chapter 8. River

Chapter 9. Shore

Chapter 10. Fair

Chapter 11. Nature

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781978845206

1978845200

OCLC:

1513366849