On Tuesday, July 23rd, the New Jersey State Library invites guests to take a glimpse inside the life of Grant Castner, a Trenton-based amateur photographer whose prolific body of work was mainly focused in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. The upcoming discussion will be a webinar-style conversation which is scheduled to take place from 12pm to 1pm on Zoom. As this is a virtual meeting, guests do not need to be physically present at the New Jersey State Library in order to attend. Guests planning on tuning in are asked to register in advanced at the following link: Register – Zoom. This and all other webinars presented by the New Jersey State Library are free to attend, and all are welcome to join in on this enlightening afternoon.

Grant Castner was an amateur photographer who was active from the 1880s to the 1920s. While an amateur in name, Castner was a powerful and prolific photographer who spent much of his life capturing the landscape of the local flora and fauna. A major theme of his work, and the topic for the day’s conversation, will center on Grant Castner’s coverage of the Delaware River, its tributaries, and the canals on both sides of the river. If you’d like to get a closer glimpse at Castner’s work either before or after the lecture, you are in luck! The New Jersey State Museum is host to more than 1,000 of his glass plate negatives and mounted an exhibition of 100 prints, on view from March to September of 2024. The New Jersey State Museum features a diverse body of Castner’s work, including city street scenes, portraits, the Jersey shore, railroads, industry, still life studies, and more.

Your host for the afternoon will be Gary D. Saretzky, an archivist, educator, and photographer. Throughout his storied career, Mr. Seretzky worked as an archivist for more than fifty years at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Educational Testing Service, and the Monmouth County Archives, from which he retired in 2019. Saretzky has served as the consulting curator for the 2024 Grant Castner photo exhibit at the New Jersey State Museum, Saretzky taught the history of photography at Mercer County Community College, 1977-2012, and served as coordinator of the Public History Internship Program for the Rutgers University History Department, 1994-2016. A wealth of knowledge regarding photography and photographic preservation, you’re certain to be blown away by Mr. Saretzky’s scope of knowledge. To learn more about Gary D. Saretzky and his remarkable work, please visit his website, linked here: http://saretzky.com

To learn more about this and other upcoming events at the New Jersey State Library, please visit their website, linked here: NJSL – Home. Further details regarding upcoming events at the library can be accessed here: Events – NJSL. You can also follow along with the New Jersey State Library on their Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. If you have any questions or require any assistance enrolling for the upcoming event, please contact the New Jersey State Library’s staff at (609) 278-2640 for further details. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy a snapshot of the life of the great Grant Castner, be certain to enroll today.

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