New York in Postcards 1880-1980: The Andreas Adam Collection [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

"These postcards bring us back to a New York that possessed glamour and drama and warmth, in even measure: a city in which there was always light, and always possibility; a city that, when you came to visit, you could not wait until you were back home to tell everyone all about it, and so you always, always, sent a postcard."--Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the "New Yorker", from his essay


--Paul Goldberger

New York, von vielen als Welt-Hauptstadt des 20. Jahrhunderts bezeichnet, ist eine globale Ikone. Dieses prächtig illustrierte Buch erzählt die Kultur- und Stadtgeschichte New Yorks anhand einer einzigartigen Sammlung von Original-Postkarten aus den Jahren zwischen 1880 und 1980. Die 900 raren Karten präsentieren die vielfältigsten Aspekte der Stadtgeschichte: Das Indianerdorf, das zur vibrierenden Metropole wurde; die Einwanderer aus allen Kontinenten; Strassenszenen des 19. Jahrhunderts; die weltberühmten Hochhäuser der 1930er-Jahre; städtische Oasen wie der Central Park; die Arterien des Verkehrs: Schifffahrt; Brücken, U-Bahn, Hochbahn; historische Ereignisse wie der Börsencrash; die Designer-Architektur der Fifties und so weiter. Auch der Spiegelung New Yorks durch Künstler ist ein breites Kapitel gewidmet. Die Karten sind thematisch und historisch geordnet und zeigen über die Architektur- und Sozialgeschichte hinaus auch die Entwicklung des Alltagsmediums Postkarte, des Grafikdesigns und der Drucktechnik. Ergänzt wird der Bildteil durch Essays des Pulitzer-Preisträgers Paul Goldberger (dem Architekturkritiker des New Yorker), des Postkarten-Spezialisten Kent Lydecker und des Schweizer Architekten Andreas Adam, der die Sammlung über Jahrzehnte hinweg zusammengetragen hat.

The Swiss architect Andreas Adam has put together a collection of thousands of picture postcards of New York. Most of them extremely rare vintage pieces and preserved in excellent condition, they tell a multitude of New York stories, from the early development of Manhattan to the rapidly growing metropolis of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the emergence of New York as the quintessential modern American city. They also show reflections, creative renditions, and artistic answers that play with and react to the New York myth. This book presents around 600 of the most beautiful and striking postcards from the Andreas Adam collection, arranged by subject field and geographical area. The subjects covered include architecture, urban locations, transport, public buildings, parks and gardens, everyday life and social history, great historical and social events, and the tourist's view of New York. A unique kaleidoscope of New York and an opulent art book, but also a lavish compendium of style, for many of the postcards are shining examples of the aesthetics of their time. The pictures are complemented by essays by Andreas Adam and by New York writers.

Thomas Kramer is managing director and chief editor of Scheidegger & Spiess Publishers since 2006. Andreas Adam, born 1945, graduated in architecture from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 1971 and runs his own architectural studio in Zurich. He also curates exhibitions and has contributed to various books and journals, and works as a painter and art teacher. Paul Goldberger is architecture critic for the 'New Yorker' and is holding the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in Manhattan. He has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism in 1984. Ken Lydecker graduated in art history from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He has been working at the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, before he became Associate Director for Education of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.