Emil Carl Grossmann Collection

The bulk of the Emil Carl Grossmann Collection is comprised of albums of photographs taken by Grossmann during his travels in Europe, mostly throughout his native Austria, and the United States from the early 1920s through early 1940s. A significant portion of one album documents trips to various Austrian spa towns, such as Bad Gastein, Millstatt, and Bad Ischl, as well as tours through the states of Burgenland and Carinthia during summers and holidays. Also included are photographs of Salzburg during the Salzburg Festival, including festival venues and scenes from the 1927 production of Everyman (Jedermann) by Hugo von Hofmannsthal starring Alexander Moissi, and venues and performers from the 1935 festival including Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger. Among the few photographs of Grossmann’s hometown of Vienna is a page showing the aftermath of the Austrian Civil War (February 1934), including damage to buildings and the Republic Monument covered by flags of the Fatherland Front.

Another noteworthy portion of the album deals with Grossmann’s extended visits to the United States, particularly New York City, in 1929 and 1937. During these trips, he photographed New York’s landmarks, neighborhoods, parks, and major streets. He additionally took photographs of the ships on which he sailed from Europe to the United States and back. A limited number of photographs date from after Grossmann’s immigration to the United States, including images of Grossmann with his wife Rose on their honeymoon and during the first two years of their marriage.

A second photograph album is dedicated exclusively to photographs Emil Carl Grossmann took at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. It contains scenes from the Amusement Zone, Court of Peace, and of the pavilions of various countries (such as France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, and Jewish Palestine) and corporations (such as General Motors, Ford, Eastman Kodak, General Electric, and Consolidated Edison). Photographs of the fair’s 1938 preview parade can be found in Grossmann’s other photograph album.

In addition to Grossmann’s albums of photography, a third album holds a collection of theater programs for plays, musicals, and operas he attended from 1922 to 1938, mostly at various theaters in Vienna. Many programs are autographed by prominent actors and singers of the 1920s and 1930s, including Josephine Baker, Fritz Imhoff, Hans Jaray, Hansi Niese, Conrad Veidt, Paula Wessely, and Paul Whiteman. There is also a small quantity of programs from various New York theaters dating from Grossmann’s time in the city during 1929. An index at the end of the album lists the title, author or composer, genre, theater, and date of every play he saw from 1922 through 1993.

Besides the three albums, the collection contains an account book listing income and household expenses, several personal letters addressed to Emil Carl Grossmann from various family members, his Austrian identity cards and American passport, and a small quantity of loose photographs of Grossmann, his wife Rose, and their parents.