Discover the Work of Grant Castner

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Historic photograph depicting four people sitting in the grass with trees and water behind them.
This article was written by Angelica Stern and originally published by Trenton Daily.

On Tuesday, July 23rd, you are invited 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. Guests planning on tuning in are asked to register in advanced at the following link: Register – Zoom.

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

Don’t miss this chance to enjoy a snapshot of the life of the great Grant Castner, be certain to enroll today.

About Julia Giantomasi

I've had opportunities throughout my career to coordinate marketing and social media for live events and small businesses across various industries. I've enjoyed keeping up with the trends and using social media to not only promote quality services but create a sense of community. As the PR & Marketing Coordinator for the New Jersey State Library I can draw from these experiences in order to provide tips and best practices for libraries handling their own marketing and social media. I hope that I can be a resource to libraries across New Jersey as they engage with their communities.