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• Issue #216
• Article

Former photo book dealer Harvey Zucker died on Thursday, May 7 after a long illness.

A native New Yorker, Zucker was a photographer, writer, editor, teacher and photohistorian. In 1979 Zucker founded the legendary bookstore, A Photographers Place, located in Soho. At the time the store was the world's largest shop devoted exclusively to the art, history, and craft of photography. It attracted book collectors, professional photographers, students from around the world, both behind the counter and as customers until closing in 2001.

Zucker began his lifelong involvement with photography as a young man living in Greenwich Village. He shot photos during the April 1961 folksinger protest in Washington Square, and was a New York correspondent for SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Photo Agency.

He later worked as a commercial photographer, was a technical editor of Penthouse Photo World, a contributing editor of Popular Photography, and a technical writer for Shutterbug. He was a founding member of the Photographic Historical Society of New York, serving as its president from 1971 to 1974, and a member of the Society of Photographic Educators, teaching at Hofstra University, the School of Visual Arts, and CCNY.

In the '70s, Zucker, along with photographer Gene Bourne, converted a vintage 1938 truck into a portable tintype studio, driving to local fairs and making modern tintypes using the historic process. Zucker was especially passionate about the daguerreotype, the earliest photographic technique, giving lectures, workshops, and producing numerous modern daguerreotypes. His work is included in the collections of George Eastman House in Rochester, NY and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He was a long-time member of the Daguerreian Society.

A veteran, motorcycle enthusiast, and world traveler, Zucker was known for his keen sense of humor, love of wordplay and witticisms. He is survived by daughter Tara, son Daniel, and grandchildren Guenevere, Rachel and Alex Zucker.