Kurt Szafranski

Kurt Szafranski or Safranski (1890 – 1 March 1964) was a German-American draughtsman and journalist, and a co-founder of Black Star.

Life and career

Born in Berlin, Szafranski was a friend of the writer Kurt Tucholsky, whose first literary work, Rheinsberg, he illustrated in 1912.[1][2] He also illustrated for Klabund. In the 1920s, he was an executive officer of the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (BIZ), where he established high artistic standards. The magazine, published by Ullstein Verlag, was the paper with the largest distribution until 1933, printed in 2 million copies.[1]

In 1935, he and his family emigrated to the U.S. because of the Nazi persecution of Jews.[1] In 1935, he co-founded with Kurt Kornfeld and Ernest Mayer, the well-known photo agency Black Star.[1][3] The agency became a destination for both U.S. photographers and immigrants from Europe, especially from Germany.[1] In 1936, he co-founded with Kurt Korff the Life magazine.[1] Black Star sold images to leading magazines such as Life and Time.[1][3]

From 2005, the archive of the Black Star was held by the Ryerson University in Toronto.[1]

Safranski died in Kingston, New York.[1]

Publication
  • Kurt S. Safranski: Selling your pictures. Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, Chicago 1940

Further reading
  • David Oels, Ute Schneider: "Der ganze Verlag ist einfach eine Bonbonniere." Ullstein in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Walter de Gruyter, 2015, ISBN 978-3-11033708-2
  • Michael Hepp: Kurt Tucholsky. Biographische Annäherungen. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-498-06495-9

References
  1. "50. Todestag von Kurt Szafranski". Deutsches Pressemuseum im Ullsteinhaus (in German). Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. Ein Bilderbuch für Verliebte online is available for free download at the Internet Archive
  3. Werneburg, Brigitte (3 February 1998). "Mit der Leica in die Emigration". Die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved 15 August 2020.
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