Percy Loomis Sperr

Percy Loomis Sperr	next
Schooner Theoline at Pier 11, circa 1935 Dockworkers Nosing Barge up to Pier, circa 1927

Airship Akron over Ferry Boat President Roosevelt, circa 1926

Percy Loomis Sperr was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1889 and gravitated to New York City after college sometime in 1924. An author by choice, he began to illustrate his literary ambitions with photographs and then discovered his photographs were in greater demand than his writing. Sperr sold enough photographs to maintain a livelihood but eventually opened and managed a second hand bookstore until his death in 1964.

Sperr became know as the "official photographer of New York City," photographing community activities and events. His photographers business card read "A growing collection of over 30,000 views of: New York Harbor; ships; old and modern, Sky-lines, dock scenes, skyscrapers, Old Houses, Foreign Quarters, Pushcarts, Farms, Old New York Scenes." His chief interest became the waterfront and his photographs often show ship's mast and harbor scenes juxtaposed in the background seen against the towering city skyline.

For more information, e-mail collections@MarinersMuseum.org.