In a profusely illustrated slide lecture, photo historian Gary Saretzky will provide an overview of the way photographs were made in the 19th century, followed by a biographical presentation of selected photographers active from about 1850 in Cape May County. Beginning in the 1850s -1900, about 40 professional photographers were active in the county. Among those covered in this lecture: Oliver H. Willard, Samuel C. Chester, William Long, and the Heiss family of photographers.

Biographical Summary

Gary D. Saretzky, archivist, educator, and photographer, worked as an archivist for more than fifty years at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Educational Testing Service, and the Monmouth County Archives. Saretzky taught the history of photography at Mercer County Community College, 1977-2012, and served as coordinator of the Public History Internship Program for the Rutgers University History Department, 1994-2016. He has published more than 100 articles and reviews on the history of photography, photographic conservation, and other topics, including “Nineteenth-Century New Jersey Photographers,” in the journal, New Jersey History, Fall/Winter 2004, a revised version of which is available at http://saretzky.com, which also includes his lecture schedule and other photography-related resources.