Nassau County Photo Archives Center
Dedicated to the Preservation of Long Island's Prestigious History
Nassau County Photo Archives Digital Collection:
Hampton Estates
An ongoing project dedicated to preservation and the spread of historical knowledge through photographs.
Featured Photographer: Henry Otto Korten
Henry Otto Korten, 1866-1915, a prolific postcard photographer of Long Island, came into the height of postcard photography and died with its commercial demise. His photographs, developed from glass plate negatives at his home in Sea Cliff, NY, recorded the life, times, people and architecture of early 20th century Long Island. His work is representative of the early era of commercial photography, encompassing the phenomena of mass-produced images that popularly circulated as postcards sold in by druggists and stationers.
Born October 2, 1866 the first of seven children to his parents in a German neighborhood of Manhattan, he obtained 25 years of education on the Lower East Side. His early training at Cooper Union sparked his artistic interest in photography. Around 1900 Korten was diagnosed with tuberculosis and ordered to leave the city for a more peaceful country life. Korten moved to Sea Cliff, NY.
After the move, Korten began work as a Long Island representative for The Illustrated Postcard and Novelty Company. A successful traveling salesman, Korten decided to go into business for himself around 1905, self-publishing his work at a Brooklyn address, 87 Frankfurt Street, and later from his home in Sea Cliff, until 1915.
Korten's photographic style was low-key. His pictures are documentary and deceptively casual. With a penchant for reflections, Korten took snapshots of Long Island to portray the most pleasant view possible. Korten's style played into the market of travel mementos, as an increasing number of people were traveling to Long Island as a summer vacation destination. He hand edited many of his own photos with pen, also adding notes to the backs for printing companies to help develop the photographs with colored ink.
Suffering from his tuberculosis, Korten spent his latter summers in the drier New Hampshire air. In 1914 he took no heed of a doctor's warning to leave Long Island permanently, and within the next year succumbed to his illness on April 5, 1915.
Martin, Linda B. & Weidman, Bette S. (May 1982). Henry Otto Korten: Itinerant postcard photographer. Photographer's Forum, Volume 4 (3). 29-34.
Collection Content Scope and Notes:
The Henry Otto Korten collection contains approximately 4,700 photographic black and white prints developed between 1900 and 1915, including duplicates. The bulk of these photographs were sent to postcard companies overseas to be developed and mass produced as color postcards. The photographs sent to postcard companies are denoted by order form stickers attached to the back of the photograph. The collection came with no systematic approach to organization by Korten, except the inclusion of some numbered photographs believed to be a series number. Not all of Korten's photographs have a series number, however. The Nassau County Museum received this photograph collection in 1976 as a bequest from one of Korten's sons, Elmer Korten.