Fotostudio Merkelbach. Portretten 1913-1969

Studio portraits made at Fotostudio Merkelbach, a luxury portrait studio that Jacob Merkelbach opened in April 1913 above a fashion house on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam. It stayed in business until 1969. Three photographers are associated with the studio: Jacob Merkelbach, Mies Merkelbach and Bobby Rosenboom. The sitters range from well-off Amsterdam citizens to actors, dancers, film people and fashion models, and the studio also supplied images to the theatre, dance, film and fashion trades. The book reproduces more than 1,000 portraits, nearly all in black and white, chosen from the studio's archive of some 40,000 portraits held by the Amsterdam City Archives (Stadsarchief Amsterdam). It is the catalogue of the Stadsarchief exhibition of 13 September 2013 to 5 January 2014, held in the studio's centenary year. Anneke van Veen edited it with Erik Schmitz. It won the Dutch Best Verzorgde Boeken (Best Produced Book) award for 2013. Its flexible cover comes in many versions, with 1,000 different portraits spread over 2,500 covers.