Photographer Donates Maritime 155,000 Slides to Brooklin Library
Source: Ellsworth American
In a generous gesture of maritime legacy preservation, award-winning marine photographer Benjamin Mendlowitz has contributed his entire slide collection, comprising a staggering 155,000 images spanning 1979 to 2005, to the Friend Memorial Public Library’s Maritime Research Center.
Mendlowitz is widely celebrated for his iconic Calendar of Wooden Boats — a labor of love that has captivated enthusiasts for 42 years — and his photos have appeared in WoodenBoat, Nautical Quarterly, Sail, Yachting, Cruising World, Professional Boatbuilder, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, Chasse Marée and Maritime Life and Traditions. He also has had eight books of his photographs published.
Benjamin Mendlowitz’s photographs of classic wooden sailing yachts have graced magazines for decades.
Recognizing the historical significance of his earlier work, which predates his transition from film to digital photography, Mendlowitz decided to entrust the comprehensive collection to the library.
“These images wouldn’t exist without the support and guidance I received early on from WoodenBoat Magazine and [its longtime technical editor] Maynard Bray,” shared Mendlowitz. “As fellow Brooklinites, we love our town, our library, these wonderful boats, their designers and builders. The work we have all done to document this over the decades should stay home in Brooklin at the Friend Memorial Public Library, so I am an eager supporter of this worthy project.”
This decision has been welcomed with enthusiasm by the library’s board of trustees.
Mendlowitz plans to donate his later digital images from 2005 onward in subsequent stages. This will result in a nearly half-century chronicle of maritime photography. Mendlowitz’s photography captures exquisite wooden yachts, commercial vessels, and smaller boats.
