Old Pictures, Historic Photographs

Walker Evans Picture - Church, Southeast US

2008-04-14T22:35:00.003-04:00

This 1936 picture is from Walker Evans' series for the Farm Security Administration. Evans photographed many rural churches across the South. This and other Walker Evans prints are available from Argent Editions.

Prices start at $49 for 8x10.

Black History | Musicians in New Iberia, Louisiana

2008-02-04T16:22:00.001-05:00

Original Title: Negro musicians playing accordion and washboard in automobile, near New Iberia, Louisiana
Photographer: Russell Lee
Date: October 1938

Buy a museum-quality print of this historic photograph.

Cotton Picking Day Laborers

2008-02-04T10:24:00.000-05:00

Day Laborers Waiting to be Paid for Cotton Picking

Photographer: Marion Post Wolcott
Date: October, 1939

Buy a museum-quality print of this historic photograph.

"Colored" Water Fountain - Old Russell Lee Picture

2008-02-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

Original Title: Negro drinking at "Colored" water cooler in streetcar terminal
Photographer: Russell Lee
Date: July, 1939

Buy a museum-quality print of this historic photograph.

Medicine Show, Strange 1935 Picture

2008-01-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

Medicine Show Performer by Ben Shahn in 1935, is an odd image of an African American man in black face preparing for a medicine show in Huntingdon, Tennessee.

Argent Editions is always on the lookout for odd and wonderful pictures from the American past. We're not sure what to make if this one except to say that it's eye-catching but a little peculiar.

Central Park Winter Scene

2008-01-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

Samuel Gottscho became a commercial photographer at age 50 and is best known for his architectural photographs of New York City. This winter scene in Central Park, looking toward the Plaza Hotel, is the first Gottscho photograph to be offered by Argent Editions. 11 x 14 prints are $115.

Argent Editions Featured on Trio's "Stuff to Buy"

2007-11-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

Argent Editions is featured today in the "stuff to buy" section of gettrio.com. Nice piece. They've nicely integrated the New York City photo "Photographer on the 33rd Floor of the Met. Life Building" into the main page of their site.

10% Discount on Photos at Argent Editions

2007-11-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

Some pretty terrific pictures in Aviation and Lighthouses were added to the collections at Argent Editions this week. In "honor" of that, and of it being just comfortably ahead of the big holiday shopping madness, we moved up a planned discount offer.

Right now, everything on Argent Editions is 10% off with the coupon code "NOVSPECIAL"

Wright Brothers' First Flight

2007-11-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

Argent Editions is pleased to announce the addition of Wright Brothers' and other early aviation photographs to its collection. Among the pictures is the famous "First Flight" photograph from Kitty Hawk, December 17, 1903.

Orville Wright set up the camera before his flight attempt and had John T. Daniels trip the shutter as Wilbur Wright, running along side the aircraft holding the wing, lets go. This first controlled, sustained, powered flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet.

Modern Original prints from Argent Editions start at $65.

Lighthouse Photos, New Collection

2007-11-05T23:15:00.001-05:00

Nantucket, Long Island Sound, the Maine coast... Argent Editions offers a collection of classic black and white pictures of America's Lighthouses. The photographs were made with an eye for the architecture and design of the structures but that doesn't diminish the pictures' charm. These pictures come to you thanks to the Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record, two initiatives intended to document and preserve the records of buildings and civil engineering across the country.

Archival fiber prints of these evocative subjects start at $65.

October Auction Results for Wolcott Photograph

2007-10-18T17:52:00.000-04:00

"Winter Visitor's Picnic on Running Board of Car, Sarasota, Florida" was photographed in 1941 by Marion Post Wolcott while on assignment for the Farm Security Administration.

A 1980s print signed by the photographer was sold on October 15, 2007 by Swann Auction Galleries in New York. The 6 1/2 by 9 inch gelatin-silver print had an auction estimate of $2,000 to $3,000 and sold for $2,200.

The Modern Original print, from the same negative, is $85 from Argent Editions. Larger prints are also available.

Alexander Gardner/David Knox at Auction

2007-10-18T16:15:00.000-04:00

"Mortar Dictator in Front of Petersburg, Virginia" was auctioned on October 15, 2007 by Swann Auction Galleries in New York. The auction estimate was $2,500 to $3,500 for the 7 x 9 inch 1865 Albumen print. The photograph sold for $3,200.The photograph depicts a 13-inch mortar named "Dictator" and several men posing behind. The mortar is said to have fired its 200-pound projectile 2.7 miles into Center Hill, in Petersburg.

Modern Original prints from an alternate negative will be offered by Argent Editions starting at $85.

In comparing the two photographs, the primary difference is in the attire of the men posing. In the Argent Editions print, the men are wearing less-formal attire. The photographs appear to have been made on the same day, from the same camera position. Notice the similarity in shadow angles from the sun and the same position of objects within the frame.

Argent Editions is very pleased to offer a photograph of such high quality and historical significance.

Brattleboro Historical Society

2007-10-12T03:44:00.000-04:00

It should be no secret that I love looking through old photographs. One of the great untapped treasures is the photo collection of the Brattleboro, VT Historical Society. They've carefully scanned hundreds of glass plate negatives of the town, its people, businesses, and homes.

The catalog is available online for browsing and the site has information on photo research, image usage rights, and other services available.

It's my hope that as the costs associated with archiving and publishing these and other great collections of historic photographs decline, there will be more local organizations doing this work and showing off their histories too.

Note Cards Now Available

2007-10-12T03:19:00.000-04:00

After several requests for a more accessible product line, we've decided to offer note cards featuring Argent Editions photographs.

The note cards are available in sets of 10, with envelopes, for $12.95. The cards are 4.25" x 5.5" on 12pt card stock with an aqueous coating on the outside, but blank and uncoated on the inside to accept your printed, stamped or handwritten message.

Expect some Winter holiday-themed selections around the beginning of November 2007. The first cards shipping are of New York City picture "Photographer on the 33rd Floor of the Met Life Building, 1908."

For more information about product lines or for wholesale inquiries, visit the contact form or call (212) 714-7065.

October Special, 25% Off Your Next Order

2007-10-07T02:14:00.000-04:00

Argent Editions is offering a 25% discount on your next order. The offer is good through October, 2007. To redeem, visit argenteditions.com and download the .pdf coupon. The coupon contains a discount code to be used during online checkout.

Walker Evans Photograph Available

2007-10-06T21:08:00.000-04:00

I've always been a fan of Walker Evans' photographs. This is the first one of his pictures to be available on Argent Editions. The Farm Security Administration employed many of the best photographers we've yet seen and Evans was one of them. "Coca-Cola Shack, Selma, Alabama" is emblematic of the pictures Evans made for the FSA as well as of the work he did when not employed by the U.S. government.

Shopping Cart Launch

2007-10-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

The new Argent Editions site has launched. There are about fifty photographs in six collections.

Credit card processing is securely handled by PayPal. Choose from one of three standard sizes for your prints. Shipping will be free.

Black History Photographs

2007-03-29T01:38:00.000-04:00

The addition of Black History photographs has begun. The first set of pictures includes Civil War era photographs and 1930s portraits of former slaves. The next group will include more images from W.E.B Du Bois' 1900 Paris exhibition.

Civil War Photographs Added

2007-03-28T22:51:00.000-04:00

Photographs from the American Civil War are now available for sale by Argent Editions. 8 x 10 inch prints are $85 and 11 x 14 inch prints are $125. This photograph of President Lincoln was taken by Alexander Gardner in 1862.

Civil War Photographs

2007-03-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

A batch of American Civil War photographs was acquired over the weekend. None has been uploaded to the site yet, but expect that in the next day or so.

Color Calibration

2007-03-23T23:52:00.000-04:00

The ColorVision Spyder2 Suite and a Samsung wide-format LCD monitor have made the process of retouching and prepping photographs for printing an easier and more satisfying experience. All the photos from the Lewis Hine collection have been re-cut with brand-new tonal curves since the monitor calibration.
See what a difference it makes:
Lewis Hine photographs after calibration

New Photograph Available

2007-03-20T21:58:00.000-04:00

Lewis Hine's 1911 Breaker boys working in Ewen Breaker of Pennsylvania Coal Co. is now available from Argent Editions.

Abebooks has some extraordinary collectible books listed for Lewis Hine. See what's available.

Page Rank

2007-03-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

Google crawled the site on Saturday. The site's coming up #1 for the term "Argent Editions" and toward the bottom of page 5 for "Lewis Hine Prints."

Gallery on Flickr

2007-03-17T19:58:00.000-04:00

Three photographs were added to Flickr today; one by Dorothea Lange and two from Lewis Hine. If you're interested in making a purchase, please email sales@argenteditions.com or call (212) 714-7065

More images will be added to Flickr for viewing while the gallery is being built at argenteditions.com

Welcome to Argent Editions

2007-03-17T19:28:00.000-04:00

The site was launched a week ago, on March 9, 2007. The first photograph to be featured on the site was Lewis Hine's "Carrying-in" boy in Alexandria Glass Factory, Alexandria, Va

Purchases can currently be made via PayPal, though the e-commerce system and photo galleries are being developed now, with new content and features to be added when completed.

See which historic photograph is featured today.